It was intriguing to see what shape Nadal would be in against 62nd-ranked Cobolli, who has only played in the main draw of a Grand Slam twice.
A record 12-time champion in Barcelona, Nadal was playing his first clay-court match in 681 days – when he won the 2022 French Open final.
There was an air of anticipation as a packed crowd awaited Nadal’s arrival on the court which is named in his honour,, external with the gangways on his walk out full of ball kids and tournament staff waiting for a glimpse.
A near-standing ovation and huge roar greeted Nadal, while the familiar pre-match foibles – aligning his water bottles, box jumps at the net and zigzagged sprint to the baseline – were also lapped up.
It was less certain whether the shot-making and athleticism which they have become accustomed to seeing from Nadal would also return.
Doubts had been raised about the impact of the abdominal injury on his serve and, although it appeared he wasn’t serving at full tilt, he showed few issues.
There was, understandably, some early rust in his groundstrokes before Nadal quickly found fluency from both forehand and backhand wings.
With Cobolli looking slightly overawed and showing uncertainty in his shots, Nadal cemented an early break for a 4-1 lead and wrapped up the opening set in 43 minutes.
Whipping a trademark forehand winner down the line in the second game of the second set illustrated his growing confidence.
Nadal edged a run of three straight breaks and saw out victory by taking his second match point, showing his delight with trademark underarm fist pump.
2024-04-16 19:34:44
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