Rafael Nadal’s comeback to tennis could not have begun with a much bigger matchup. It also could not have gone much better.
In a battle between former Grand Slam champions who have fallen upon tougher times of late, Nadal defeated Dominic Thiem 7-5, 6-1 in the first round of the Brisbane International on Tuesday evening. The 37-year-old Spaniard did not face a single break point while advancing in one hour and 27 minutes.
“Today is honestly an emotional and important day for me after probably one of the toughest years of my tennis career, without a doubt,” said Nadal, who missed the entirety of 2023 following the Australian Open due to a hip injury. “I had the chance to come back after a year and play in front of an amazing crowd and play, I think, at a very positive level.
“On the first day, it is something that makes us feel proud–myself, all the team, and family that have been there every single day during the past year.”
The turning point came with Thiem serving at 5-6 in the opening set. He saved three set points but could not fight off a fourth, and from there it was all over. Nadal raced to a 3-0 lead in the second and never looked back.
“The first set was equal, with both of us serving well and more or less winning on serve,” Nadal assessed. “I was able to have that break at 6-5, so that makes the difference. Honestly, I know Dominic has gone through some hard times with injuries too, so I’m happy to see him on court and I wish him the very best for the season.”
Thiem has been struggling ever since sustaining a bad wrist injury during the 2021 grass-court swing. The 30-year-old Austrian, who is back in the top 100 but still lower than many would expect at this point in his comeback at No. 98, had to qualify in Brisbane–which he did with a couple of dramatic three-set victories.
Next up for Nadal is Australia’s Jason Kubler, who got a retirement from Aslan Karatsev.
How is Rafa serving? For me that’s key to his comeback.
Rafa’s serving was immaculate except for one df in the second set. To me he looked as great as everyone said and more aggressive than he used to be. But the proof will be in how he recovers and whether he can keep injury free. Thiem played a poor second set with lots of errors. He may have been tired from his qualies heroics – two three setters and saving some match points. It’s said he still has wrist problems and really has not been the old Thiem since winning the USO in 2020 and having wrist surgery a little later. I wish him “all the best” as Rafa said.
Thanks Ramara!!
It’s so great to have Rafa,back looking good. I pray he remains injury free…!
Happy New year to you, Mona and Lucky. It’s great to see you all again..!😀
zero break points faced
Was that because Rafa,was,serving and playing well or because of Thiem playing poorly? At least it sounds like he wasn’t back to serving loads of double faults….
There’s a graphic going round saying Rafa ‘s fh quality for the match was 9.6!!! That’s insane. That’s the number Novak had on his fh when he was playing his best matches at the wtf ( might have been 9.7 but very similar). Unbelievable after a year out. The tour average is 7.6!
Hey folks!!! Happy new year to u all!! I’m here in St. Croix on vacation and just happened upon the Tennis Channel, and realized Rafa is back!!! VAMOS!!! He looks great too! I wish Rafa a great year on his final tour!! Really looking forward to tennis after almost two years of glum 🤣😃😄 welcome back Rafa!!!
Happy New Year to everyone here. Yes, Rafa played well, the first set was competitive and Thiem was playing well too. The second set Thiem was missing more of his shots, and Rafa was playing consistently well, moving well too; very impressive from Rafa after a year’s absence from competition.