Doha: Rafael Nadal’s ability to make a quick recovery from multiple ailments was thrown into doubt Tuesday as he lost 6-1, 3-6, 4-6 to Michael Berrer in Qatar. This first round match was Nadal’s first of the 2015 ATP World Tour and he appeared to have had insufficient time to recover from an appendectomy, and far too little match practice over the last two months. Nevertheless, it was a humiliating outcome for one of the most successful players of all time, who had won the first set at a canter before his game crumbled.
Berrer is a 34-year-old qualifier ranked outside the top 100 who is playing the last season of his career. Nadal has also been suffering from back and wrist injuries, which reduced his service speed greatly. And he appeared to cast doubt on his ability to take part, let alone be a contender at the Australian Open, which begins in less than two weeks. “Little things didn’t quite work out for me today,” he said. “This is the third comeback of my career after injury, so we will see how it goes in a couple of months. I wanted to start well, but it was not the case today.
“I also want to play in the Australian Open which is a tournament I like a lot. I don’t know if that will be the case either.” Berrer had only taken four games in four sets off Nadal in their previous two meetings, but recognised a career-greatest opportunity and in patches responded by raising his standards to new heights. Berrer broke early in the final set and led 3-1, sometimes finding angles which perhaps only a fellow lefty could manage against Nadal. Earlier Novak Djokovic, who succeeded Nadal as world number one in June, made a satisfactory start with a 6-1, 6-4 win over his Serbian compatriot Dusan Lajovic.
