Nadal, during his exhibition match against Murray. /
The Spaniard returns to the slopes 133 days later, yielding to Andy Murray in an exhibition in Abu Dhabi
It took more than three and a half months to see Rafael Nadal again on a tennis court. It could not have been a perfect return, with a victory, as he would like, but it was a match, that of the Abu Dhabi semifinals against Andy Murray (6-3 and 7-5), which served to verify that the Spanish he is at a good level after having been almost half a year without competing.
Since Nadal lost in the semi-finals at Roland Garros, he has only played three games, two in Washington and yesterday in Abu Dhabi. The foot injury has tormented a tennis player who has measured his steps very well so as not to force himself, despite being the year of the Olympic Games and the last Davis Cup in Madrid, and that is why he chose an exhibition tournament that he knows very well.
The Balearic spent a few days in Kuwait, training and visiting the academy he owns in the country, before moving to the United Arab Emirates, where he would seek to win this tournament for the sixth time. The absence of Dominic Thiem in the draw detracted from the competition some of the appeal, but the big star was Nadal, as the public demonstrated, with numerous banners of his idol.
The game, despite the friendly nature, was also special and it was the first time since 2016 that Nadal and Murray had seen each other. The first since the British tipped the Spanish in the semifinals of the Madrid Masters. No one anticipated then that it would take almost five years for them to compete against each other again.
Murray, who arrived after the news of the cancellation of his exhibition tournament next week in Scotland due to a case of covid, came with a little more pace since this Thursday he beat his compatriot Dan Evans. And he was in charge of making Nadal pay for it, who looked good, although with some typical failures of being lacking in rhythm.
The Spaniard barely generated two break points on Murray’s serve, while he enjoyed seven and took advantage of two. There were nice exchanges, moments for both players, but with a break in the first set and another in the second, the Scotsman took the jack to the water. “It was a long time since we played with each other. I am very happy to have played against him at this level because of everything that has happened. It wasn’t the best match for me, but I hadn’t competed in a long time. I’ve had a lot of positive feelings, “Nadal said after the defeat.
Despite having lost in the semifinals, Nadal will have another opportunity today to continue picking up pace for the Australian tour. The man from Mana will face Canadian Denis Shapovalov, who lost in the other semi-final against Russian Andrey Rublev. Murray will face Rublev himself in the final of the tournament that he already won in 2014.
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