American qualifier nearly knocks Nadal out of Australian Open

Rafael Nadal is moving on to the third round of the Australian Open after just barely eking out a 6-2, 3-6, 6-7, 6-3, 7-5 win Wednesday morning.

The No. 3 seed, Nadal faced American qualifier Tim Smyczek, who is ranked No. 112 on the ATP tour. The Spaniard has never lost to a qualifier in a Grand Slam event.

With the match tied at one-all, Nadal called for a doctor in the third set. He was cramping up, and looked completely drained. At that point he led by a break, 5-4, but when play resumed he failed to serve out the set. Symczek took the tiebreak for the 2-1 lead.

Smyczek saved two break points in the fourth set, keeping even with Nadal. But the 2009 Australian Open champ finally broke Smyczek in the 11th game, giving the veteran the 6-5 advantage.

Building a 30-0 lead in the 12th game, it looked like Nadal would serve out – until Nadal faulted. A fan had yelled out just as he served, likely the reason for the fault. Showing true sportsmanship, Smyczek told the chair umpire to replay the point. Nadal went on to win the game, forcing a deciding set.

They battled to 5-5 before Nadal finally broke Smyczek.

Smyczek again held on as long as possible. He rallied from 0-30 to force deuce in the final game, holding off three match points. But with a smashing backhand winner up the line, it was Nadal moving on to the third round after 4 hours and 12 minutes.

Nadal fell to his knees on court, celebrating in a fashion usually reserved for later rounds and upsets.

"It was a very tough night for me," he said in the on-court interview. "I want to congratulate Tim because he was a real gentleman what he did in the last game. Not a lot of people would do something like this at 6-5 in the fifth. I think he played a great match."

This is the first time Smyczek and Nadal have faced off. Smyczek, 27, has made it to the third round once in his career, doing so at the 2014 U.S. Open.

Nadal missed several months last season, including the U.S. Open, while recovering from a wrist injury, an appendicitis, and a procedure on his lower back.

Elsewhere on Day 3, No. 2 seed Roger Federer moved on to the third round with a four-set win over Simone Bolelli, 3-6, 6-3, 6-2, 6-2. He called for a trainer in the second set, later explaining that he had a mysterious pain on his hand.

"I don't know. It felt like a bee stung me. I never had this pain before – it was disturbing me. I knew taping it wasn't the right thing so I just wanted to speak to the trainer. Thankfully it wasn't as bad at the end."

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