Rafael Nadal was broken four times by one of his former ball boys before he struggled into the ATP China Open second round in an unconvincing return to action on Tuesday.
The Spanish great ultimately won 6-4, 6-4, but not before he trailed in the second set against China’s 230th-ranked Wu Di, who once tossed him balls and towels in his native Shanghai.
Nadal, 29, was playing for the first time since his third-round defeat at the US Open, but it was a far from satisfying return as the 14-time grand slam-winner continued to scratch around for form.
“We don’t need to talk more about confidence, rhythm. That’s my level today, and I’m going to work hard to try to improve my level of today,” he said.
“But tomorrow is another opportunity. I played a match today that I can play better, and I think I can play better tomorrow because I’m practising well.”
On a heavily polluted day in Beijing, Wu anticipated superbly when he lunged for a forehand volley winner for his first break of the Spaniard early in the first set, and he wasn’t done yet.
Wu broke again to go ahead in the second set but with both players uneasy on serve, Nadal was able to wrap it up after 86 minutes and progress to a second-round meeting with Vasek Pospisil.
“I’m practising well, so the level of tennis is going to be there sooner or later. I am working a lot to make that happen. I think I’m closer to that,” Nadal said.
“I know it’s obvious that I need results to confirm that. But we are almost at the end of this season and I have time to keep playing the last tournaments of the year with the chance to practise the things that I need to do for next year.
“My goal is recover the level especially to play my best on clay next year.”
Eighth-ranked Nadal has said he’s using the year’s final events as practice for next season, after a forgettable 2015 in which he didn’t progress beyond the quarter-finals of any of the grand slams.
As for Wu, 24, it was a memorable encounter after he was a ball boy for Nadal at the Tennis Masters Cup in Shanghai and later progressed to become a practice partner.
“As for the ATP Finals (Tennis Masters Cup), I served as the ball boy for Rafa. So right now I played Rafa. It’s not a small deal,” he said.
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Ain Dubai in numbers
126: The length in metres of the legs supporting the structure
1 football pitch: The length of each permanent spoke is longer than a professional soccer pitch
16 A380 Airbuses: The equivalent weight of the wheel rim.
9,000 tonnes: The amount of steel used to construct the project.
5 tonnes: The weight of each permanent spoke that is holding the wheel rim in place
192: The amount of cable wires used to create the wheel. They measure a distance of 2,4000km in total, the equivalent of the distance between Dubai and Cairo.
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Place of birth: Kalba
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Favourite quote: By Sheikh Zayed, the UAE's Founding Father, “Those who have no past will have no present or future.”
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She moved to the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies before moving to the World Health Organisation as a communications officer.
She came to the UK in 2007 after securing a scholarship at London Metropolitan University to study a master's in communication management and met her future husband through mutual friends a month later.
The couple were married in August 2009 in Winchester and their daughter was born in June 2014.
She was held in her native country a year later.
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- October 2023: Another 31 volumes released
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Stars: Lee Jung-jae, Wi Ha-joon and Lee Byung-hun
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Name: HyperSpace
Started: 2020
Founders: Alexander Heller, Rama Allen and Desi Gonzalez
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Entertainment
Number of staff: 210
Investment raised: $75 million from investors including Galaxy Interactive, Riyadh Season, Sega Ventures and Apis Venture Partners
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More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
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Starring: Ranveer Singh, Deepika Padukone, Shahid Kapoor, Jim Sarbh
3.5/5
