Thinner on top, but still thunderous in his intensity, Rafael Nadal returned to the singles court by thumping former US Open champion Dominic Thiem in a straight-sets win that will echo around the locker-room.
As Nadal played his first serious match since January 18, 2023, all the trademarks were there: the bazooka of a forehand, the bustling movement and the delicate hands at the net. Even his backhand – normally his weakest suit – was in punishing form as he pummelled Thiem from the baseline.
We have been hearing positive whispers emanating from the Nadal camp for some time. Yet it was still thrilling for tennis fans to see him playing with such a dominant cocktail of clarity, touch and violence.
If this first match proves to be a reliable guide, we are not looking at a man performing a farewell tour (which was very much the tenor of Nadal’s most recent press conference in May). We are looking at a man who can compete for titles.
What remains to be seen, however, is whether Nadal’s 37-year-old body can cope with repeated stress, day after day and week after week. While he may have looked exceptionally strong on this one-off showing, his very ascendancy meant that he only needed 89 minutes to complete the job.
“Today is an emotional and important day for me,” said Nadal in his on-court interview at the Brisbane International. “I think that to play at a very positive level, to be the first day, is something that probably make us feel proud. To myself, to all the team and to family who have been there every single day during the last year.”
Nadal’s first point after his lay-off (which had been occasioned by a hip injury) was a perfect demonstration of intent. He served, placed his first spin-heavy forehand to his opponent’s backhand as usual, and then walloped a clean forehand winner into the open court.
Even under heavy fire, Thiem offered stout resistance in the first set, matching Nadal stroke for stroke until the 12th game. But once that first break arrived – and also concluded the first set – his self-belief seemed to wilt.
A drop in work-rate from Thiem allowed Nadal to reel off five straight games and move out to a 3-0 lead in the second set. The contest was no longer compelling, but Nadal’s statistics – 12 winners and just three unforced errors across the match – show that he remained completely dialled-in.
“I missed being healthy, I missed feeling myself competitive,” said Nadal, who will face world No 102 Jason Kubler in the next round. But he shrugged when told that his early exchanges with Thiem had resembled a second-week match at a major. “I don’t have a real test about how the level was,” he replied, in typically understated fashion. “I have been too long outside.”
Nadal also looked uninterested – as he usually is – in the statistics surrounding his 1,069th victory on the tour, despite the fact that it moved him ahead of Ivan Lendl into fourth place on the all-time list. On this evidence, though, he will be adding plenty more scalps to that tally.
