Former world No. 1 Rafael Nadal made a successful return to the court after beating Austria's Dominic Thiem 7-5, 6-1 in a first-round match at the Brisbane tournament. For the Spaniard, this was his first singles match in nearly a year.
Nadal last played in the second round of the Australian Open on January 16 last year, after which he missed the entire season with an injury while undergoing surgery. Subsequently, the 37-year-old tennis player announced that 2024 could be the last year of his career, and today he made a successful start to the season.
Rafa had nine wins and six losses against 2020 US Open champion Dominic Thiem, but the Austrian had taken the last two matches of 2020. The first set today was tied and going on serve until the 12th game when Nadal hit his backhand and broke for 7-5 success. In the second part, the winner of 22 Grand Slam titles dominated the court and gave only one game to his opponent, reaching the victory after an hour and 29 minutes of play.
So Nadal, who dropped to 672nd in the world rankings, qualified for the second round in Brisbane, where he will meet eighth seed Aslan Karatsev of Russia or wildcard Jason Kubler of Australia. /BGNES
