Nadal roars to victory in singles comeback

After missing almost a year due to injury,

Rafa Nadal made his singles comeback on Tuesday,

defeating Austrian and former world number three Dominic Thiem 7-5 6-1 at the Brisbane International first round.

The 22-time Grand Slam champion injured his left hip flexor during his Australian Open second round loss to Mackenzie McDonald in early 2023,

necessitating arthroscopic surgery in June of that year.

In his first matchback of the new season,

Nadal lost badly in doubles against retired veteran Marc Lopez on Sunday,

but he did display flashes of his best play ahead of the Melbourne Park major,

which takes place January 14–28.

“Today is honestly an emotional and important day for me after probably one of

the toughest years of my tennis career,” Nadal stated.

“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.”

Rematching their 2018 and 2019 French Open finals, which he won,

the 37-year-old looked razor sharp once more during his most recent matchup with qualifier Thiem.

He increased his game and won the opening set with a break.

With the Pat Rafter Arena packed house cheering him on,

Rafael Nadal broke through early in the second set with a spectacular backhand pass.

He never looked back, building a 5-1 lead before serving out the match.

“I missed being healthy a feeling competitive,

playing in front of full crowds that have been amazing all my career here in Australia,” said Nadal.

“I can’t thank everyone enough.”

With his 1,069th win at the men’s tour level, Rafael Nadal moved up to fourth place in

the all-time rankings, surpassing Ivan Lendl.

It wasn’t a statistic I knew about today, as you may understand,” Nadal remarked.

“Just staying focused and remembering how to play in a competitive match took enough of my time.

Before the contest, there were concerns and anxiety.

“But things went well and I’m excited to be back.”

Arina Rodionova defeated Sofia Kenin, the 2020 Australian Open champion, 7-5 7-6(7) in the women’s draw,

while Victoria Azarenka defeated Anna Kalinskaya 6-1 7-6(8).

Coco Gauff, the 19-year-old defending champion of the U.S.

Open, defeated Claire Liu, another American, 6-4 6-2 to begin her new season.

Gauff will next take on world number 117 in an attempt to better

his fourth-round result at Melbourne Park from the previous year.

After the 16-year-old Czech overcame Anna Blinkova 7-5 6-4,

Brenda Fruhvirtova was victorious.

After defeating Caroline Wozniacki 6-4 6-3,

second seed Elina Svitolina will play Emma Raducanu,

the 2021 U.S. Open champion,

who defeated Elena-Gabriela Ruse 6-3 4-6 7-5 after returning from wrist and ankle surgery.