The beautiful impression left in the first round of Brisbane against Dominic Thiem on Tuesday (7-5, 6-1) was not just a mirage. After eleven and a half months of absence and a hip operation, Rafael Nadal is already really evolving at a more than interesting level, as evidenced by his new victory on Thursday against the Australian Jason Kubler (6-1, 6 -2 in 1h23).
It is an understatement to say that the Mallorcan was well positioned in his starting points since he won 14 of the first 15 points of this match. Massed in the right forearm at 5-0 against him, Kubler seemed overwhelmed by the weight of the Spaniard’s balls, who was also as incisive on the serve as the day before.
Another Australian on the program
Despite a slight hesitation to conclude the first set (three break balls to be discarded) then a warning for having exceeded the legal duration of the toilet break, Nadal maintained his rhythm in the second set, distributing his forehand slaps with precision, notably. We even saw him achieve his famous backhand smash with mastery during this match. And finish with a winning cross backhand. In the end, a convincing and regenerating success for the former world No. 1, already assured of recovering more than 200 places next Monday in the ATP rankings, where he currently occupies 672nd place in the world.
“I started really well, with very good determination. I tried to be aggressive from the baseline and everything went well, he said on court just after his match point. I’m very happy to be playing again tomorrow, I feel good and I feel grateful. I still need to continue to train well, to match a lot, but everything is fine, I’m happy. »
In the quarter-finals on Friday, Rafael Nadal will face another Australian, Jordan Thompson (55th ATP), the beneficiary of Ugo Humbert’s withdrawal on Thursday, who has been suffering from fever and stomach cramps for two days. Nadal has already played twice against Thompson, for two Parisian victories, at Bercy in 2020 (6-1, 7-6) and at Roland-Garros in 2022 (6-2, 6-2, 6-2).
2024-01-04 10:26:35
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