Rafael Nadal's wife Maria Francisca Perello could not hold back her tears as the Australian Open defending champion played through the pain in the second round clash against world number 65 Mackenzie McDonald.
As Nadal struggled on the court the camera panned towards coach Carlos Maya who were sitting on the courtside.
"I considered all the time stopping, but I didn't ask," he said in a press conference. "I have to know myself, and I tried to keep playing without increasing the damage.
"I was not able to hit the backhand at all. I was not able to run for the ball. But I just wanted to finish the match. That's it.
"I didn't ask them [his team]. I am old enough to take my own decisions. I didn't want to retire, [as] defending champion here. No, I didn't want to leave the court with a retirement.
"It's better like this. I lost. Nothing to say. Congratulations to the opponent. Just try your best till the end, it doesn't matter the chances that you have.”
The 36-year-old had revealed that his hip injury is an aggravated issue that he suffered a couple of days before the second round clash.
Nadal was beaten 6-4, 6-4, 7-5 by America's McDonald. He received treatment during the second set. He left the court for a medical timeout. When he returned, the crowd welcomed him with a deafening applause at the Rod Laver Arena. However, the treatment was not enough for him to dominate McDonald as he lost in straight sets.
He also became the first top seed to get knocked out of the second round of Australian Open since Gustavo Kuerten in 2001.
"I don't know what's going on, if it's a muscle, if it's a joint. I have history in the hip, I had issues. I had to do treatments in the past," he said.
"Now I feel I cannot move. But I don't know till I do the test and all this stuff, I don't know. I don't know.
“I'm tired of talking about it. I understand, but I lost the match. That's it. I tried until the end. I don't know if in good condition I would win the match. I will have better chances without a doubt.”
