Spanish tennis legend Rafael Nadal made a dominant return to court on Sunday as he breezed past James Duckworth with a straight-set win, at the first round of the Australian Open. The 17-time Grand Slam winner collided with a tricky situation at the Rod Laver Arena, considering Duckworth’s unorthodox style of play but overcame his injury woes in outstanding fashion.
However, number two seed’s highlight of the day came in the post-match press conference that followed.
While answering a question from a reporter, Nadal’s eyes fell on another reporter, who chose to take a quick nap during the event. And guess what? Pouncing on the opportunity, Rafa gave us a moment to remember.
Nadal, who quickly turned to his comical best, made a hilarious facial expression to turn’s everyone’s attention to the sleeping correspondent. He quickly followed it up by saying “It’s not interesting today” in a serious tone and the echoing laughter in the room was enough to wake up the dozed man.
In a bid to save the poor one from further embarrassment, the 32-year-old left-hander came up with a line in his favour. Giving us a taste of his wacky sense of humour, Nadal said,
“I know you were closing your eyes to be more focused on what I was saying.”
Here is the video:
😴
Nothing gets past @RafaelNadal #AusOpen pic.twitter.com/PebIxmYg4t
— #AusOpen (@AustralianOpen) January 14, 2019
Oh, Rafa! That was even better than your brutal forehands!