In his return to tennis on the Brisbane Worldwide, Rafael Nadal prevailed within the first spherical of his singles matchup, successful 7-5 6-1 over former world No. 3 Dominic Thiem. Nadal’s victory was a powerful return to competitors after a hip damage sidelined him for nearly all of final 12 months, in addition to an incredible begin to what’s anticipated to be the 37-year-old Spaniard’s remaining season.
After dropping in doubles whereas partnered with Marc Lopez, Nadal flashed his outdated type in a rematch of the 2018 and 2019 French Open finals, claiming the opening set on a break earlier than pouring it on within the second set, taking a 5-1 lead earlier than closing it out with a serve. The victory was Nadal’s 1,069th, shifting him to fourth on the all-time wins listing.
“At this time is actually an emotional and vital day for me after most likely one in every of the hardest years of my tennis profession,” Nadal stated, per Reuters.”I had the prospect to return again after a 12 months and play in entrance of an superb crowd and play at a really constructive degree on the primary day is one thing that makes us really feel proud — my staff and household who’ve been there daily within the final 12 months.”
After dropping within the second spherical of the Australian Open as he was hampered by damage, Nadal had initially anticipated to return to competitors within the latter a part of 2023. That by no means ended up materializing, as Nadal was stored out of motion for the rest of the season after present process hip surgical procedure in June. Following the Brisbane Worldwide, Nadal is predicted to make his Grand Slam return within the 2024 version of the Australian Open.
After withdrawing from the French Open in Might, Nadal had stated he expects to retire following the 2024 season, including that his motivation can be “to attempt to take pleasure in and say goodbye to all of the tournaments which were vital to me.” Nadal’s 22 Grand Slam titles rank second all-time solely to Novak Djokovic, with Roger Federer — one other all-time nice and a up to date of each gamers — simply behind in third.
