Update your calendar: Rafael Nadal has a resumption date. Absent for almost a year after his withdrawal from the 2023 Australian Open, the Spaniard will make his comeback to singles competition on Tuesday January 2 during the ATP 250 tournament in Brisbane (a return to be followed exclusively on the air of Eurosport and on Eurosport.fr). And the draw reserved a choice opponent for him: Dominic Thiem. Coming out of qualifying with two successes, the Austrian, currently 98th in the world and still in search of his best level, will constitute a nice test for this return to the Mallorcan courts.
Nadal will actually make two returns to competition. The first will take place this Sunday, December 31, 2023 and it will be in doubles. Alongside his friend and compatriot Marc Lopez, the Spaniard will challenge the Australian pair Jordan Thompson / Max Purcell to get in shape. A day of rest was therefore given to him by the organization of the Brisbane tournament. It will also remain to be determined the time of the meeting against Thiem. The Brisbane tournament hosts the ATP and WTA circuits in its facilities.
Nadal – Thiem, a symbolic match
This Nadal – Thiem is symbolic in many ways. He will pit the king of Roland-Garros against his (former) prince. The two men played two finals at Porte d’Auteuil in 2018 and 2019, won by Nadal, and their sporting rivalry is one of the most interesting on the circuit in recent years. In any case, it is not one-sided: Nadal leads 9 successes to 6 against the winner of the US Open 2020. They have also both been through the long injury box in recent months
This will also be the first match between the two players since November 2020 and the group stage of the ATP Finals. In London, Thiem won this last duel (7-6, 7-6). The 30-year-old even remains on two straight wins against Rafa, since he won a remarkable quarter-final at the 2020 Australian Open (7-6, 7-6, 4-6, 7-6) in harsh outdoor conditions. Three years later, they finally meet again. To our greatest delight.
Thiem – Nadal: The summary