Rafael Nadal gets 'Rockstar-like' welcome, startled by Serena Williams at Australian Open

After the massive upheaval of the last few weeks, the Australian Open 2021 has finally gotten underway in Melbourne. Beginning early on Monday, February 8, each of the top seeds in the Men's and Women's draws have survived their Round 1 challenges, with Men's No.10 Gael Monfils and Women's No.23 Angelique Kerber being the biggest upsets of the day at the time of writing. One of the smoothest wins of the came at the hands of 10th seed Serena Williams, who cruised to an easy win over Germany's Laura Siegemund to move on to Round 2.

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Serena Williams almost scares Rafael Nadal after Australian Open 2021 win

Aiming to equal Margaret Court's record of 24th Grand Slam singles title, Serena Williams got her Australian Open 2021 campaign to a cracking start with a 6-1, 6-1 win over Laura Siegemund. Looking to share her joy, or perhaps simply in her eagerness to catch up with her old friend, Williams gave No.2 Rafael Nadal, quite a fright as she snuck up on him in the tunnel of the Melbourne Park complex. A video doing the rounds on social media shows the two greats meeting each other after Williams' match.

Holding a couple of rackets and engrossed in a conversation with another man, Rafa can be seen jumping back with surprise when he realises that someone is standing so close to him. Later in the video, both players can be seen enjoying a conversation with their masks off. Nadal will play his Round 1 match against Serbia's Laslo Dere on Tuesday, while Williams has set up a Round 2 meeting with Dere's compatriot Nina Stojanović on Wednesday. Rafa's match will take place at the famed Rod Laver Arena.

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Rafael Nadal injury update

Chasing a double career slam and a record-setting 21st Grand Slam, Rafael Nadal's Australian Open campaign will begin under a cloud of uncertainty and injury. The World No.2 gave fans a fright after he pulled out of Spain's opening ATP Cup fixture against Australia. Despite receiving an additional day to recuperate from his 'stiff lower back', Spain's top seed did not take to the middle for the team's next draw against Greece either, leading to speculation that his injury is more serious than he is letting on. However, Nadal received a 'rockstar-like' welcome in Melbourne ahead of his main practice session as he seems to be recovering quicker than expected.

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This will mean that the Spaniard's last professional game came at the ATP Finals, where he was defeated by Daniil Medvedev in the semi-finals. At the Australian Open 2021, Rafa has been awarded an easy draw as compared to No.1 Novak Djokovic, after being placed with Daniil Medvedev and Stefanos Tsitsipas. Djokovic, on the other hand, will have to beat last year's runner-up Dominic Thiem, US Open runner-up Alexander Zverev and Swiss veteran Stan Wawrinka before he can reach the final.

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Image Credits: AP