Rafael Nadal might not have had an amazing return to tennis after being out for over a year with a hip injury, losing in men’s doubles with Marc Lopez last Sunday, but the Spaniard reigned supreme on Tuesday in the category in which he won 22 Grand Slams and 70 other ATP titles.
After an hour and thirty minutes of intense tennis at the Pat Rafter Arena, the wildcard entrant faced his longtime opponent Dominic Thiem and won 7-5, 6-1 to advance to the pre-quarters of the Brisbane International.
It was Nadal’s first competitive singles game in 349 days, having last played in the Australian Open 2023, where he injured his left hip flexor in a shocking second-round defeat before undergoing surgery later that month. However, his performance in Brisbane in front of a cheerful audience that included his father Sebastian gave him a quick reminder of his skills. His slick movement and quick reflexes at the net were just as impressive as his lethal forehand.
Nadal, who held to love four times and lost only three games before winning the first break of the game in the twelfth game following some sloppy groundstrokes from Thiem, appeared to be in control of the opening set. Although the 92-time tour-level titlist let slip the first three games in that match, he made no error in taking the fourth and taking the lead in their 16th ATP meeting.
Nadal carried on his control in the second set, breaking Thiem in the second and sixth games and being flawless on serve. He won 90% of the points (28/31) on his first serve and only dropped three points on his second serve, while also hitting 12 winners.