Injuries may force Nadal out of Australian Open

DOHA — Rafael Nadal’s ability to make a quick recovery from his long list of injuries and ailments and take part in the Australian Open was thrown into doubt on Tuesday as he lost 1-6, 6-3, 6-4 against Michael Berrer, ranked No 127, 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 past two months. Berrer is a 34-year-old qualifier who is playing his last season.

Nadal has also suffered back and wrist injuries, which reduced his service speed greatly. And after the defeat, 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.

“This is the third comeback of my career after injury, so we will see how it goes in a couple of months,” he said.

“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, but I am going to work for it.

“If not, I will be playing at Rio and Buenos Aires. The season is long. After coming back from injury you can’t see the immediate moment, you have to look further ahead a little bit.

“Now in my mind I have to practise well and try to be ready for Australia, but I know it can happen that I will go there and lose. Perhaps I will win a couple of matches there, I don’t know.”

Berrer had taken only 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. He was also admirably frank in his assessment.

“It’s one of the matches which will stay in my memory for ever, but let’s be honest it was the first match for Rafa after injury,” he said. “In the first set, it felt like the other matches against him. Then it became easy to attack because it was the only chance I had. It’s also my last season and I had nothing to lose, and I’m enjoying it here — so why not?”

Earlier, Novak Djokovic made a satisfactory start with a 6-1, 6-4 win over his Serbian compatriot Dusan Lajovic. “I didn’t know during the last couple of days whether I would be able to play,” Djokovic said, referring to the fever he has had. “So in the circumstances it was a very good start.”

In Perth, women’s world No 1 Serena Williams endured a straight-sets defeat against Eugenie Bouchard at the Hopman Cup in Perth as the United States lost 2-1 against Canada.

On Monday, the 33-year-old American recovered from a slow start to see off Flavia Pennetta 0-6, 6-3, 6-0 and lead her country to a 3-0 win against Italy.

But the following day, Williams — winner of 18 Grand Slams — registered a costly 23 unforced errors as she was beaten 6-2 6-1 by the 20‑year-old in 50 minutes.