Rafael Nadal, the Spanish tennis star, recently suffered a huge loss and created a new but unwanted record. Nadal recently fell to Australian Alex De Minaur in the 2023 United Cup mixed-gender event. Fans were shocked to witness his second straight defeat in the tournament. It has cast a huge doubt on the King of Clay’s performance in the 2023 season and fans expressed their astonishment and disappointment over Twitter.

The current World No.2 has found it difficult to build his early-season form before defending his Australian Open title. After a successful 2022 season that was also marred by injuries, Nadal made a comeback and showed flashes of brilliance before losing to Cameron Norrie in the opening match. But the Spaniard couldn’t capitalize on his impressive start as he lost both his matches after winning the first set.

Fans react after Rafael Nadal sets an unwanted record

In the first set, Nadal looked at his best, and he seemed to be on the verge of recovering. However, it was the same case as his first match against Norrie, as he dropped crucial games, falling 3-6, 6-1, 7-5 to de Minaur. The sole triumph Nadal has now had in his previous seven ATP tour competitions came against Casper Ruud in the dead rubber round-robin stage at the ATP Finals.

Following Nadal’s loss, a media house ‘Relevant Tennis’ tweeted about the record that the Spaniard has set. The tweet read, “For the first time in his career, Rafael Nadal has lost the first two matches of the season 🤯🤯🤯.”

After the 2022 Wimbledon, Nadal was unable to participate in more than four events due to rib, abdomen, and foot ailments. Fans had expressed their concerns about the tennis ace’s further matches. It is less than two weeks before he has to defend his Australian Open crown. Here are some reactions of the concerned fans of the King of Clay.

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A fan of his arch-rival, Novak Djokovic, was quick to tweet, “Washed. His run is over, Novak is the real GOAT. ”

After the match, Nadal asserted that he was not unduly concerned despite his defeat. After losing his singles matches in the inaugural United Cup, Nadal is excited to leave for Melbourne and start preparations for his Australian Open title defense.

Fans got worried after witnessing the tennis ace fall at the start of the 2023 campaign. One fan tweeted, “His done, he won’t be in the top 10 this year.” 

Others mentioned how Nadal has the tendency to underperform during the pre-season before reaching best once the major tournament commences.

Nadal quashes rumors about his retirement

During the post-match press conference for the 2023 United Cup, Nadal was asked about his retirement. Even though the renowned Spanish tennis star made jokes about it, his fans weren’t happy with the questions. Twitter users wished the star would resolutely answer such questions. Contrary to the rumors that spread in 2022 as a result of many injuries, Nadal has made it quite clear that he has no plans to retire at this moment.

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The former World No. 1 admitted that, even though his retirement was inevitable, he did not frequently consider it and that he was working hard to keep physically fit for the new season. Let us know what you think about the 22-time Grand Slam champion in your comments below.