Pat Rafter Arena: Spanish legend Rafael Nadal's comeback to the ATP Tour continued seamlessly with a stylish victory in the second round of the Brisbane International here on Thursday. The former World No.1, who recently returned to action after a 12-month-long break due to injuries, dismantled Australia’s Jason Kubler 6-1, 6-2 to reach the quarterfinals.
The 37-year-old Nadal, who started with a rock-solid opening victory against Austria's Dominic Thiem, picked up where he left off at the hard-court ATP 250 event by scoring an equally impressive victory on Thursday. Nadal, who had not played a competitive match for nearly 12 months due to injury before this week in Brisbane, continued to move impressively around the court as he powered past Kubler in 83 minutes.
“I think I started the match playing very well, with a very good determination,” said Nadal in his on-court interview. “I saw videos of Jason before the match and I saw him playing very solidly from the baseline, so I came on court and tried to be aggressive with my shots from the baseline."
“It worked very well. I think it was a very positive match for me and the chance to play again tomorrow means a lot to me. Two victories after a long time being outside of the professional Tour is something that makes me feel good,” the 22-time grand slam title winner said.
Nadal, the 92-time tour-level titlist, won 12 of the first 13 points in his maiden meeting with Kubler and barely looked back thereafter as he booked a last-eight meeting with another home favourite, Jordan Thompson. The Spaniard, whose highlights against Kubler included a stunning backhand smash that simultaneously showcased high-class agility and timing, will step on the court against the World No. 55 Thompson having won 10 of his past 11 tour-level matches against Australian opponents.
“I need matches, I need health, I need to keep practising well and of course the past two matches here help, and even the doubles on the first day,” said Nadal, who has hinted that 2024 may be the final season of his career.
“Of course, victories and hours spent on court help. For me, every day that I have the chance to play is great news, so I’m just happy for that, happy that I came back after a long time and feel competitive. Let’s see how far I can go,” said Nadal, who is hoping to add to his 22 Grand Slam singles titles at the upcoming Australian Open, to be played from January 14 to 28 in Melbourne. Nadal has won the year's first Grand Slam twice -- in 2009 and 2022.
Nadal’s lightning-fast start gave Kubler, the No. 102 in ATP Rankings, little time to settle inside Pat Rafter Arena, and the Australian appeared hampered by an issue with his right arm, for which he received treatment from the physio both during and after the first set.
Nadal, the 14-time French Open winner, trailed 0/40 when serving at 5-1 but he recovered to seal an opener in which he dropped just five points on serve.
With his heavy-whipped lefty forehand forcing Kubler to deal with plenty of high, spinning balls, Nadal continued his charge with his third break of the match in the opening game of the second set. That set the 37-year-old on course to victory, and he finished the match having struck 20 winners, including four aces.
Earlier on Thursday, Grigor Dimitrov notched an equally comprehensive second-round triumph when he accelerated past Daniel Altmaier 6-1, 6-2.
The second-seeded Dimitrov, who battled past former World No. 1 Andy Murray in three sets in the opening round to become the player with the most wins in tournament history, is now 20-7 at an event where he lifted the trophy in 2017.
The Bulgarian converted four of the six break points he earned against Altmaier to advance in 68 minutes. His opponent in his seventh Brisbane quarterfinal will be home wild card Rinky Hijikata, who battled past Tomas Machac 5-7, 6-2, 7-6(4).
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