Rafael Nadal was given quite a workout by Kazakhstan’s Andrey Golubev on Tuesday night to the surprise of onlookers.
Golubev has barely won a match all year but he rose to the challenge of taking on Nadal in the night session and gave the defending champion a few scares before he came through 6-3, 7-6, 7-5.
Nadal would have noted Golubev’s 18 match losing streak on the tour this year and probably thought he was in for a quick night’s work as he swept through the opener.
Golubev was not fazed though and he was the one with all the chances in set two, ultimately blowing a 5-2 lead and five set points. He continued to go for broke in the third and he looked destined to extend Nadal to a fourth set as he grabbed two quick breaks. The Spaniard fought back again but his rivals will have noted the chinks of vulnerability.
"For sure I was nervous,” Nadal said. “That's normal. It's normal to start the tournament like this with some nerves. And what happened today, he didn't help because he played very fast all the time. All the shots, he was trying to hit a winner on almost every shot. So it was difficult for me to find the rhythm. But it's a positive start winning in straight sets, even if it was unbelievable that I won in straight sets. But it is a victory in straight sets.”