Rafael Nadal returned to playing a singles match after almost a year away from tennis to recover from hip surgery.
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This Tuesday (2), the 37-year-old tennis player beat Dominic Thiem by 2 sets to 0 in the debut of the ATP 250 in Brisbane – splits of 7/5 and 6/1 in 1h29min. The Spaniard advanced to the round of 16 of the tournament in Australia.
On Sunday, Nadal had already debuted in the Brisbane doubles and, alongside fellow Spaniard Marc Lopez, was defeated by Australian Max Purcell and Jordan Thompson.
On Tuesday, on the other hand, he showed that he resumed his good tennis and surpassed the Austrian former number 3 in the world. It was Nadal’s tenth triumph in 16 clashes with Thiem.
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Currently occupying 672nd position in the ATP rankings due to the period away, Nadal entered the main draw in Brisbane as a guest, despite being able to use the protected ranking of number 9 in the world, a position he held when he injured his hip. He faces another guest of the tournament in the round of 16.
With that, Australian Jason Kubler, 102nd in the ranking, passed Russian Aslan Karatsev – the number 8 in the world, who abandoned the match. It will be the first time that Nadal and Kubler face each other.