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"What, me?" Rafael Nadal in dialogue with a spectator
Photo:
LOREN ELLIOTT / REUTERS
Grand Slam record winner Rafael Nadal continued without losing a set at this year's Australian Open, despite the disruptive maneuver of a possibly confused spectator.
The 13-time French Open champion prevailed in his second round match against US qualifier Michael Mmoh 6: 1, 6: 4, 6: 2.
At the end of the second round, the woman bullyed in the direction of Nadal and showed him the middle finger.
Nadal took the break with humor.
"What, me?" He asked incredulously, and laughed.
The woman was expelled from the facility after the incident.
After the match, Nadal said with a laugh: "I didn't know her and I don't want to get to know her either." During the game he had already reacted surprisingly relaxed, laughed and juggled the tennis ball with his foot a little.
With the necessary sporting seriousness, he transformed his second match ball after 1:47 hours.
Should he use a match point five more times, he would crown his record hunt.
So far, Nadal and Roger Federer, who is missing this year, have each won 20 Grand Slam tournaments.
If Nadal were to triumph in Melbourne in the end, he would be the tennis professional with the most men's Grand Slam victories.
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