follow Rafael Nadal’s return to competition against Dominic Thiem in Brisbane

Thiem forces a little with his forehand and commits a double in the process, the third for him in this match. Hazard. 15-30.

Rafael Nadal starts the second set as he started the first, with a shutout. The Spaniard wins a lot of points (three points lost since the start of the match behind his first ball (72%).

The first set fell into the hands of Rafael Nadal who took advantage of his opponent’s drop in service and some bad choices at the end of the game. Nadal won the first set 7-5. Both players play very good tennis, but Rafael Nadal is even stronger than his opponent. The Mallorcan’s return to competition is so far very convincing.

Thiem misses his backhand attack after an off-center forehand from Nadal who is happy to see the ball come back to him in the forehand. Av Nadal.

Thiem finds his first at the right moment to save a third break point, but it’s difficult for the Austrian… 40-40.

Very well served from Dominic Thiem who comes to meet the ball which he takes rising to take away time from Nadal and fix him on the other side with his forehand. It’s well done. 40-40.

Second set point to save for Dominic Thiem. Av Nadal…

Nadal leads the rally with his shot and gets the first break point of this match, which is also a set point. 30-40.

The return is short, his second racquet shot also, Thiem does not let the offering pass and enters this cross forehand adding volume. 30-30.

Nadal seizes the first opportunity presented to him to release his backhand with an early ball hold. Here he is two points from the set. 0-30.

The games go by at the end of the set, we are heading straight towards a decisive game. Neither player found a lasting solution on the return to worry the server.

Thiem does not tremble and equalizes at 5-5 after an outside service-forehand sequence along the line on the tie side.

Rafael Nadal serves a first ace at 40-30 and clenches his fist. Hooked for the first time on his first time of the game on his throw-in, the former world No. 1 forces the Austrian to serve under pressure.

Nadal encourages himself after an important point won at the net. 15-15. The Spaniard then attacks the Austrian with his forehand after an exchange where Thiem distinguished himself with a lob delivery between the legs, with his back to the net, what we more commonly call a tweener. 30-15.

Nadal’s return is a little long, Thiem equalizes again in this very balanced match. Only five points in total were lost on serve by both players in the first eight games.

Very well executed sequence tactically and perfectly executed technically by Thiem, who delivers an outgoing forehand to Nadal’s backhand, forced to let go of one hand, and who rushes into the opening on the other side with his favorite weapon. 15-0.

Thiem’s ​​game is not devoid of intentions, but the Austrian commits a lot of backhand faults, the last one allowing Nadal to record another shutout.

Thiem increases his serving stats with a new authoritarian game. Both men are not giving up anything to their opponent at the moment. No break point.

Rafael Nadal remains uncompromising on his play. The Spaniard won 100% of his points (10/10) behind his first ball (85%). The last backhand passing that he has just slipped into a very uncomfortable position is truly beautiful.

Very good coverage of the court from Nadal who ends up reversing the trend in the exchange with his lasso forehand, but Thiem is vigilant on the next point with a new drop shot which he concludes at the net with a high backhand volley. The two men fight blow for blow. We are witnessing a very pleasant match.

Thiem maneuvers with his forehand and finds a very nice area along the line before finishing with a winning drop shot. The Austrian has also found his feet. 40-0.

Nadal continues with a second shutout. 2-1 in favor of the Spaniard who rewarded the Pat Rafter Arena with a very nice move to the net after a nice kick on the previous point. The feelings are good for the former world No. 1 with 22 Grand Slam titles.

Thiem concludes a very good first service game with an ace. It will be necessary to observe this, but the Austrian has a somewhat slow reaction time and sometimes seems to get ahead of himself after his serve and even during the rally sometimes, as if he was unable to correctly estimate the ball speed of his opponent.

Nadal commits a first fault on a sliced ​​backhand along the line which catches the net while the Spaniard had made the difference diagonally. Thiem releases a first forehand shift in stride. 30-0 on the Austrian’s throw-in.

A good first service game, won without losing the slightest point, for Rafael Nadal.

Rafael Nadal releases a winning first forehand. 15-0.

Let’s go ! Rafael Nadal will serve first in this game.

The Majorcan is cheered by the spectators at the Pat Rafter Arena, when he jumps, when he puts away his bottles, because yes, this will not surprise you, Nadal has kept his little routines.

Rafael Nadal and Dominic Thiem will soon appear on the Pat Rafter Arena.

“I can’t predict how I will be in the next six months. I can’t predict if my body will allow me to enjoy tennis as much as I have over the last 20 years. I don’t know if my body will allow me to enjoy tennis as much as I have for the last 20 years. will allow me to be competitive. I mean, not in the sense of winning the biggest events, but in the sense that makes me happy, to feel competitive to go on the court and to feel that I can compete with anyone.”

Miguel Angel Nadal, former Barça player and uncle of Rafael Nadal, spoke for Marca about his nephew’s relationship with football and Real Madrid, his favorite club.

>> More info here

Aligned with his lifelong friend and now co-coach Marc Lopez, who came out of retirement for the occasion, Rafael Nadal lost (6-4, 6-4) in doubles against the Australians Max Purcell and Jordan Thompson, this Sunday.

>> We tell you that here

Tennis fans could hardly dream of a better poster for this event. Dominic Thiem, not spared from injuries in recent years, is also in search of his best level, the one which allowed him to reach the final twice at Roland-Garros, in 2018 and 2019, beaten each time by Rafael Nadal, and above all to win the US Open in 2020, a year which saw him reach the final at the Australian Open. 98th player in the world this week, Thiem had to go through qualifying to gain the opportunity to meet Nadal with whom he already played in training last week. The Austrian has emerged victorious in three of their last four clashes, including a huge quarter-final tussle in Melbourne four years ago. Thiem won 7-6, 7-6, 4-6, 7-6.

Finally, we are there! It’s for this Tuesday morning, in France, around 9:30 a.m. (7:30 p.m. in Australia). Rafael Nadal is preparing to return to competition, having not played singles in an official tournament since his defeat in the second round of the Australian Open last year. Disabled at the time by a hip injury, the Majorcan underwent two operations and for a long time left the mystery surrounding his ability to return to the tennis courts. The former world No. 1 even considered retirement, but now he is very close to a return, after 347 days of absence. Nadal received an invitation to the Brisbane tournament. Facing him ? An old acquaintance…