Melbourne R2 preview and prediction: Nadal vs. Berankis

Rafael Nadal’s long-awaited return to official singles competition will begin on Thursday afternoon at the Melbourne Summer Set, a new ATP 250 tournament.

Nadal’s last event was the Washington, D.C. 500 in August, when his recurring foot injury plagued him during an early-round loss to Lloyd Harris. The 35-year-old had been struggling with that issue since falling to Novak Djokovic in the French Open semis. Nadal played the Abu Dhabi exhibition last month — losing two matches against Andy Murray and Denis Shapovalov — and also appeared in doubles on Tuesday, teaming up with Jaume Munar to defeat Sebastian Baez and Thomas Martin Etcheverry 6-3, 3-6, 10-4.

Following a first-round bye as the top seed at Melbourne Park, Nadal awaits Ricardas Berankis in his opening match. Berankis earned a shot at the Spaniard by beating Marcos Giron 7-5, 6-4 on Wednesday. This will be their first-ever head-to-head meeting.

It has already been a great week for Berankis, who had to qualify just to get into the main draw. The 31-year-old Lithuanian accomplished that feat with victories over Etcheverry (6-4, 6-2) and Altug Celikbilek (5-7, 6-2, 6-1). Berankis wrapped up his 2021 campaign in decent form, as well, making a run to the Moscow semifinals as a qualifier.

Unfortunately for the world No. 104, going up against Nadal for the first time is never easy and he will find out quickly that this is a terrible matchup for him. Berankis stands at just 5’9” (and that listing may be generous), so Nadal’s heavy topspin forehand will force the underdog to hit backhands way out his strike zone. Berankis also doesn’t have the offensive firepower to keep Nadal on his back foot far behind the baseline.

Count on Nadal’s comeback getting off to a strong start.

Pick: Nadal in 2 losing 5-7 games