After 350 days in the dry dock, Rafael Nadal returned. And he returned as if he had never left, because the long-awaited return of the winner of 22 Grand Slams was accompanied by the ingredients that have always accompanied him during his career.
The doubts regarding his condition, after almost a year without competing – his last match was on January 18 – were sent to hell by Nadal himself in the first point of his victory against Dominic Thiem (7-5 and 6-1) . After just an exchange of two blows, Nadal placed a forehand parallel to the line. A winning blow that made the Austrian snort and erased the uncertainty regarding the man who now wears 672 in his ranking, but whom his tennis will put much higher in a short time.
Because Nadal is back – His forehand has returned, with a greater degree of aggressiveness to shorten the points, that backhand that acts as a brush and the serve has returned, with which he won 88% of points with the first serve and 80 % with the second. He only lost six points on his serve in the entire match against a tennis player with whom he played in two Grand Slam finals and who until not long ago was considered his successor on clay.
Thiem, already very far from that level to which he seeks to return, was a worthy opponent for Nadal's return and during the first set he held his own. The Austrian held his own against Nadal's aggressiveness for twelve games and only faltered when the pressure on his serve and the loss of losing the first set brought him down.
The Spaniard needed four set points, but he secured a first set that decided the match due to the blow it dealt to Thiem's morale, who had already suffered horrors to pass the previous phase of the tournament, and because he prevented Nadal from a physical duel. which he has not known for a year. With that 7-5 in his pocket, the second set was a walk for the man from Manacor, who took advantage of the two break options he had to sentence poor Thiem, diminished since his wrist began to give him problems in 2021.
“Until today I had not had a test of what my level was,” Nadal said after the match. “I know Dominic has been through a lot of tough injuries and I'm glad to be able to see him on the court and wish him the best for the future.”
This victory is a ray of hope for Nadal, who along the way broke the tie with Ivan Lendl as the third tennis player with the most wins in history (1,069), since there were many doubts about his stadium and his competitiveness in a year in which He will turn 38, an age at which no one has won a Grand Slam in the Open Era.
The Spaniard's preparation, since the operation for the iliopsoas injury, and his time of rest, have borne fruit and in Brisbane he will have at least another opportunity to warm up for the Australian Open that begins on January 14.
«Today is a very emotional and very important day. Last year was the hardest of my career and I have had the opportunity to come back. I have been able to play at a very positive level for the first day. “I am very proud for me and for mine,” added Nadal, who will face in the next round the winner of the duel between Aslan Karatsev and Jason Kubler, both unknown rivals for him.
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