US Open, Rafa Nadal responds in kind to John McEnroe

“I definitely don’t think I will receive different treatment from the referees.”

Absent from the courts of Flushing Meadows since his final five-set victory over Daniil Medvedev in 2019, Rafa Nadal may have struggled more than expected to get the better of a stout Rinky Hijikata, who was able to snatch the first partial from the Mallorcan in the confrontation later won by the Spaniard in four sets. In addition to talking about his return to the court on New York’s concrete, the Manacor left-hander answered questions following the controversy launched by John McEnroe, according to whom the umpires would always have an eye on the Iberian because of his failure to respect the 25-second regoal as the time limit for restarting the game on serve.

“I hope he was joking. I’ve received a lot of warnings in my career. Never for breaking a racket, never for intemperance on the court, but for the time rule. I have a problem with sweating, and when you play in such humid conditions this problem is emphasized, partly because for the last two years there have been no ball boys carrying towels. So you have to go to the other side of the court to get them. This is a problem for people, like me, who sweat a lot, because you know if you go to get the towel you run out of time right away. That’s why I don’t go that often anymore. I definitely don’t think I’ve ever received different treatment from the referees. I didn’t understand why John said that on TV. Maybe we’ll have a talk later….”