'Mentally destroyed': Injured champion Rafael Nadal bows out of Australian Open

Defending champion Rafa Nadal crashed out of the Australian Open second round on Wednesday after aggravating a hip problem during his 6-4, 6-4, 7-5 defeat to Mackenzie McDonald -- the Spaniard's latest entry in an injury-blighted history at Melbourne Park.

Nadal's elimination shakes up the men's draw and puts a twist in the Grand Slam titles race, with nine-times champion Novak Djokovic able to draw level with the Spaniard's 22 major championships should he take a 10th crown in Australia.

Nadal tweaked his left hip while running for a backhand in the second set at Rod Laver Arena, and after inspection from a trainer when trailing 6-4, 5-3, he went off-court for a medical time-out.

He returned grim-faced to play out the match, but his movement was clearly affected, particularly on his backhand side, paving the way for McDonald to end the Spaniard's bid for a third Australian Open title.

Nadal said the hip had bothered him for a couple of days but nowhere near to the extent of Wednesday's match.

"I don't know what's going on, if it's muscle, if it's (the) joint," he told reporters.

"I have a history (of) hip issues. I had to do treatments in the past, address it a little. (It) was not this amount of problem. Now I feel I cannot move."

In the 2018 Australian Open, Nadal was forced to retire in the fifth set from his quarter-final against Marin Cilic because of a hip injury.

Before Nadal broke down on Wednesday, hard-hitting McDonald had played superbly to take the first set, going toe-to-toe with the 36-year-old Mallorcan and winning most of the baseline exchanges.

If there were any demons from their only previous meeting, a straight sets thrashing by Nadal at the 2020 French Open, McDonald erased them on the Rod Laver Arena hard