Spaniard Rafael Nadal continued his journey to his first tournament following a long absence and reached the quarter-finals of the Brisbane International on Thursday.
Winner of 22 Grand Slam singles tournaments, Nadal easily defeated Jason Kubler in two sets of 6-1, 6-2 to advance to the next round.
“Every day is an adventure,” Nadal said. I approach each day as an opportunity to do well and tomorrow will be another. »
37-year-old Nadal plays as guest as ranking drops past 600e rank while recovering from hip surgery. He is looking to play matches before the Australian Open, which begins this month.
Regaining the mental and muscle memory needed to cope with difficult game scenarios is on his to-do list this week.
“It’s important to survive these kinds of moments because you train in the face of adversity,” he said. This is something I need to practice again because [ça fait] It’s been a while, a long time, since I’ve been in this position. »
Nadal’s first competitive match since January 2022 turned out to be a victory against 2020 U.S. Open champion and former world No. 3 Dominic Thiem.
“It means a lot to me,” insisted Nadal. Two victories after a long time away from the professional circuit is something that, yes, makes me feel good and makes me happy. »
Nadal hit 20 winners, including some violent forehands, and he made eight unforced errors. In addition to his powerful baseline shots and dominant serve, he delivered volleys, half-volleys and overhead shots. He rushed to chase down balls and covered the baseline with no visible signs of injury.
He only lost one point in his first three service games – a double fault on the second point of the match. But he also knew how to get out of trouble when he needed to, at 5-1.
Nadal will now face another Australian, Jordan Thompson, in the quarter-finals on Friday. Thompson advanced when fourth-seeded Frenchman Ugo Humbert withdrew due to illness.
Sabalenka dominant
Australian Open champion Aryna Sabalenka played the match after Nadal and she was even more dominant, beating Zhu Lin 6-1, 6-0.
Sabalenka, the tournament favorite, lost only four games en route to Friday’s quarterfinals against Daria Kasatkina (no 5).
Elena Rybakinao 2), the 2022 Wimbledon champion, advanced with a 6-1, 6-0 win over Elise Mertens (no 13). She will now have an appointment with Anastasia Potapova (no 11).
Victoria Azarenka is in a familiar position after reaching the quarter-finals in Brisbane, where she won her first career WTA Tour title in 2009.
Azarenka defeated France’s Clara Burel 7-5, 6-2 to advance to the quarterfinals for the fifth time in six appearances at this booster tournament before the Australian Open.
Azarenka, champion in Melbourne in 2012 and 2013, will now cross swords with Jelena Ostapenko (no 3). The latter defeated Karolina Pliskova 6-2, 4-6, 6-3.
In the men’s draw, Grigor Dimitrov eliminated Daniel Altmaier in two sets of 6-1, 6-2 to secure his ticket to the quarter-finals. Dimitrov will face Australian Rinky Hijikata.