With his fist still raging and his strikes devastating, Rafael Nadal signed a winning and speedy return to competition on Tuesday in Brisbane by dominating Dominic Thiem, for his first official singles match in almost a year. “It’s an emotional and important day for me after probably one of the most difficult years of my tennis career,” said the former world No.1 after his 7-5, 6-1 victory in 1h29 at the expense of the Austrian.
At 37, the winner of 22 Grand Slam titles, including 14 Roland-Garros, had not played singles since his defeat in the second round of the Australian Open, on January 18, 2023, against the American Mackenzie McDonald. He knew he was expected. Not only by the Pat Rafter Arena in Brisbane, packed for this first round of the ATP 250. But by the entire world of tennis which was watching the form of the comeback, removed from the circuit by a hip injury, two operations, months of rehabilitation punished by a drop in the ATP ranking (672nd).
Back like he never left @Rafael Nadal | @BrisbaneTennis | #BrisbaneTennispic.twitter.com/FNSyK16ptd
— ATP Tour (@atptour) January 2, 2024
Tough adversity
The spectators were not disappointed, finding a very leggy Nadal, his fist clenched after each winning shot, administering authoritarian strikes and signing sumptuous volleys. Admittedly, the warm-up period was a little long against a tough opponent. The draw had reserved for Nadal a reunion with the former world number 3 and winner of the US Open in 2020, out of qualifying.
At 30, Dominic Thiem was also kept away from the courts after a wrist injury, struggling to climb the ATP rankings (98th). The Austrian put up good resistance to the native of Manacor, who battled for an hour before winning the first set, concluding on the fourth break point of the twelfth game. The second set was much more one-sided and concluded in 29 minutes.
On Sunday, Rafael Nadal ended a drought of 347 days without an official match by lining up in doubles alongside his co-coach Marc Lopez, logically losing to the pair of Australian specialists Jordan Thompson and Max Purcell (6 -4, 6-4). After his victory on Tuesday – the 1069th of his career which places him 4th behind Jimmy Connors, Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic – he said he was “proud” to have “the chance to come back after a year and play in front an extraordinary audience at a very positive level for the first day.”
The 102nd in the world in the next round
However, there is no question of planning on specific objectives or even of confirming whether 2024, as he suggested, could be his last season. Just to see how his body, battered by injuries after 22 years on the courts, will hold up, and to taste the pleasure of playing again. “I am aware that things are not going to go well, that it is almost impossible for them to go well” in Brisbane, he told the Spanish daily El Pais before entering the fray. “I’m not seeded, I’m the age I am.”
“I want to feel like I can go on court and compete with anyone,” Nadal told reporters in Brisbane a few days ago. “It doesn’t matter in the end if I won or lost, as long as I found this feeling again…” Seeing his radiant face and his brandished fist at the moment of victory on Tuesday, the first sensations were encouraging. In the second round, Nadal will face Australian Jason Kubler, 102nd in the world, winner after retirement of Russian Aslan Karatsev (4-6, 7-6, ab).