The Spanish Rafael Nadal lost this Friday to Australian Jordan Thompson 6-7, 7-6, 6-3 in the quarterfinals of the tournament. Brisbanewhere he suffered his first defeat since his return to competition this week after wasting three match points.
The former number one lost after an intense match of three hours and 25 minutes in which he started very focused, but found himself against a solid opponent who gained strength and confidence as the duel progressed. The two players began by winning their respective service games comfortably, especially the Mallorcan, who hit 11 consecutive first serves at the beginning.
Thompson made it clear from the beginning that he would pose greater resistance than his compatriot Jason Kubler the day before, with aggressive tennis that at some points managed to overwhelm the Spaniard. With more confidence and aggressiveness as the set progressed, the Australian did not waste the first break point of the match in the seventh game and took the lead on the scoreboard.
But like so many times in his career, Nadal poured cold water on his rival's euphoria and responded by breaking Thompson's serve in the next game to level the score again (4-4).
The Australian's momentary loss of strength with his first serve gave Nadal three new break points (and the first of the set) with 6-5 in his favor and the Mallorcan took advantage of the second to win the first set 7-5 after a long 70-minute fight.
The second set began with more alternatives, with more errors on the part of both, especially Thompson, who relied on the aggressiveness of his winning shots to compensate for his unforced errors and save his service games. The Spaniard's physical condition was an unknown after his long absence from the circuit, but for the moment he did not seem to resent the intensity of the match under the suffocating humidity of Brisbane.
With 5-4 in favor, Nadal had his first match point, but the Australian saved it in extremis and ended up scoring the game. The second set ended up being played in a tie break, which the Spaniard seemed to have dominated on several occasions that he wasted, while his rival took off the pressure and improved her game to end up winning with a brilliant offensive game.
Perhaps the long inactivity caused the Spaniard's rocky mental resistance to present cracks in the tie break and the questions to multiply ahead of the decisive set. The concerns were confirmed at the beginning of the third set, when Thompson took advantage of a hesitant game by Nadal on serve to break it and gain an advantage that ended up being decisive in winning the set and the match. In addition to the mental lapses, the final phase of the match raised concerns about the physical condition of the Mallorcan, who had to be treated for hip discomfort at the end of the third set, after losing serve against Thompson.
After receiving the treatment, Nadal was more solid on serve but was unable to trouble the local idol, who reached the semifinals of the tournament for the first time.
EFE
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