Rafael Nadal is back and he is back in the winner’s circle.
Nadal’s return to tennis for the first time since Wimbledon began with a 6-3, 6-2 victory over Federico Delbonis during second-round action at the VTR Open on Wednesday evening. Nadal needed one hour and 27 minutes to reach the quarterfinals, where awaits either Daniel Gimeno-Traver or Albert Montanes.
Suffice to say, however, that the top-seeded Spaniard got off to a inauspicious start. He dropped serve in the opening game of the match and quickly fell behind 0-2, 0-30. Just in time, however, Nadal righted the ship and reeled off six of the next seven games to snag the opening set.
From there it was all over for Delbonis, who was facing a Herculean task in what was by far the most notable match of his career. The 22-year-old Argentine lost four consecutive games to begin the second before finally salvaging two relatively meaningless holds. Nadal held easily for 5-2 then battled through a deuce game on serve to wrap up the proceedings.
“I’m happy to play a singles match after so long,” said the world No. 5, who struck four aces without double-faulting. “I need days and time to get my game back, but so far the feeling on court is great. For now the most important thing is to spend as much time as possible on court.”
Nadal will contest his quarterfinal doubles match on Thursday before getting back on the singles court on Friday.
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