Nadal Beats Thiem In Straight Sets At Brisbane International
The 22-time Grand Slam champion Rafael Nadal marked his singles comeback after being out injured for nearly a year with a convincing 7-5 6-1 victory against Austria’s Dominic Thiem in the Brisbane International first round on Tuesday.
The Spaniard after injured his hip during his second round defeat by Mackenzie McDonald at the Australian Open in early 2023. He returned to competitive tennis on Sunday and crashed to a doubles defeat while partnering retired veteran Marc Lopez but showed glimpses of his top form.
Nadal, who had hip surgery in June 2023 showcased top form in a rematch with Thiem, reminiscent of their past French Open finals.
“Today is honestly an emotional and important day for me after probably one of the toughest years of my tennis career,” Nadal said.
“I had the chance to come back after a year and play in front of an amazing crowd and play at a very positive level on the first day is something that makes us feel proud – my team and family who have been there every day in the last year.”
Nadal soaked up the pressure and claimed the opening set with a break. Roared on by fans inside a heaving Pat Rafter Arena, Nadal grabbed an early break in the second set with a superb backhand pass and barely looked back as he racked up a 5-1 lead before closing out the match on serve.
THE SMILE SAYS IT ALL 😀@RafaelNadal is BACK, he defeats Dominic Thiem in straight sets, 7-5 6-1 😮💨#BrisbaneTennis pic.twitter.com/YV1KH68c0c
— Brisbane International (@BrisbaneTennis) January 2, 2024
“I missed being healthy an feeling competitive, playing in front of full crowds that have been amazing all my career here in Australia,” Nadal added. “I can’t thank everyone enough.”
Nadal’s 1,069th men’s tour-level victory meant he surpassed Ivan Lendl to sit fourth in the all-time list.
“As you can imagine, today it wasn’t a statistic I was aware of,” Nadal said. “I had enough work just to be focused and come back on court and remember how to play in a competitive match.”
“There were nerves and doubts before the match. But things went well and I’m excited to be back.”
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