“Finished clay bum” – Fans take a mickey out of Rafael Nadal as he loses his season opener against Cameron Norrie at United Cup
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Cameron Norrie won his United Cup tie against Rafael Nadal
After a difficult yet memorable 2022 season, tennis icon Rafael Nadal thought he would start the 2023 season on a positive note. He agreed to participate in the inaugural edition of the United Cup, which is being held in three Australian cities- Brisbane, Sydney, and Melbourne. However, the Spaniard lost in the very first match of the season.
The 22-time Grand Slam champion entered the Ken Rosewell Arena in Sydney as the top-ranked Spanish tennis player of Team Spain against Team Great Britain’s Cameron Norrie. A lot of the hopes of Spanish fans were riding on him. However, he lost the match 3-6, 6-3, 6-4. Cameron Norrie’s win gave Team Great Britain a 1-0 lead over Spain.
Spain has selected a star-studded line-up for the United Cup. Besides, Rafael Nadal, Paula Badosa, Pablo Carreno Busta, Nuria Parrizas Diaz, Albert Ramos Vinolas, Jessica Bouzas Maneiro, and David Vega Hernandez are also part of the Spanish team and are going to play next against their British counterparts. However, one big name that is missing from the team is Carlos Alcaraz.
Although Spain may have lost the first match, the team has got enough firepower to win this clash. Besides Great Britain, Spain also has to play against Australia, which is also drawn in Group D.
Social media is reacting to Rafael Nadal’s defeat
Rafael Nadal won two Grand Slam titles in the 2022 season- the Australia Open and the French Open. This increased his Grand Slam tally to 22. He also won the Melbourne Summer Set 1 tournament and Mexican Open. However, in the past six months, he has been struggling with his fitness. He had to retire from the semi-final clash against Nick Kyrgios at 2022 Wimbledon because of an injury and gruesome pain. Since then, he is also struggling with form.
He missed out on many tournaments and played in only 4 of the ATP tournaments till the end of the season. He came back at Cincinnati Masters, however, losing to Borna Coric in the second round. The Spaniard then participated in the US Open but was knocked out of the tournament in the fourth round by Frances Tiafoe. He then faced a shocking defeat at the hands of the World No.31 Tommy Paul. He also lost his Group stage encounters against debutants Taylor Fritz and Felix Auger-Aliassime at the 2022 ATP Finals.
His fans believed that the year 2023 would be better than last season. However, this loss against Cameron Norrie has shocked them. Sharing a wide spectrum of reactions online, here are a few interesting reactions coming in on this news.
Everybody hopes that Rafael Nadal will soon return to form and fitness as the season progresses. Also, Spain would like to have its greatest tennis player back on the court, winning if it wants to lift the United Cup trophy.
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Abhar Indorkar
(451 Articles Published)