Rafa Nadal is aware of his surroundings, on and off the court, and his exemplary observation skills were on display in his post match presser today.
While discussing about his 1st round win against Duckworth at the Rod Laver Arena, Nadal spotted something rather unusual in the press area.
A journalist slowly dozed off while listening to Rafa describe his 1st round win, and Rafa ensured that he hilariously pointed it out.
“It’s not interesting today,” Nadal joked after spotting the overworked journalist.
The journalist was then woken up by his colleagues and indulged in a small exchange with Rafa Nadal.
Nadal did not make a huge fuss about it and instead came up with a good excuse on part of the ‘sleeping journalist’.
“You were closing your eyes to be more focused on what I am saying,” Nadal said.
Check out the video:
OMG…😍 Rafa can’t be more adorable when spotting the journo sleeping… and the journo is an “old friend” (Ubaldo) 😂 (https://t.co/gEvdERnZIv) pic.twitter.com/SrGL8Iwthe
— Genny SS (@genny_ss) January 14, 2019
Nadal is back on the tour for the first time since his US Open retirement against Juan Martin del Potro. Nadal is currently just testing waters and waiting to see how his body responds to the ankle surgery that he had gone through in November.
He is currently taking it match by match and was happy with the win today, as he needed to get things rolling in Melbourne.
“It is normal that the beginnings are tough, but every day helps and every day makes me feel better, makes me feel more confident,” said Nadal.
“So that’s an important victory because it is the first victory in a while and at the same time, because it gives me the chance to be on court again.
“That’s what I needed today.” he added.