Sports Desk, Jan 2 (EFE).- Spanish tennis superstar Rafael Nadal’s much awaited return to competitive tennis singles after a gap of nearly 12 months came with a comprehensive win against the Austrian Dominic Thiem at the Brisbane International in Australia on Tuesday.
Nadal defeated the talented Thiem 7-5, 6-1 in straight sets at the Pat Rafter Arena in Queensland Tennis Centre, with the 37-year-old showing no sign of having been out due to hip injury for 349 days.
“Today, honestly, is an emotional and important day for me after probably one of the toughest years of my tennis career, without a doubt,” said the 22-time Grand Slam winner in an on-court interview after the match.
“I had the chance to come back after a year and play in front of an amazing crowd and play, I think, at a very positive level,” he added.
Nadal and the former world number three Austrian went neck-to-neck before the Spaniard converted his fourth set point on return in the 12th game to take the set.
The second set was pretty much one sided with the Mallorca-born former world number one losing only a single game, as the match wrapped up in 89 minutes.
Nadal next faces the winner of the match between Russia’s eighth-seeded Aslan Karatsev and home wild card Jason Kubler. EFE
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