Returning from injury, former world number 1 Spanish tennis player Rafael Nadal beat Austrian Dominic Thiem 2-0 in the men’s singles first round of the International Brisbane Tournament.
Nadal, who has 22 grand slam titles in his career, returned to the courts after 349 days with the first round match of the ATP 250 tournament International Brisbane held in Australia.
Facing 2020 US Open champion Thiem, who is at the 98th level of the world rankings, 37-year-old Nadal won 2-0 with sets of 7-5 and 6-1 after one hour and 29 minutes. Nadal will fight with the winner of the Aslan Karatsev-Jason Kubler match in the second round of the tournament, which he attended by special invitation.
The Spanish tennis player, who was eliminated by American Mackenzie McDonald in the second round of the Australian Open in January 2023, was away from the courts for a long time after his hip injury in this match. Nadal, who announced that 2024 could be the last season of his career, fell to 672nd place in the world class.