Rafael Nadal’s win at the first competitive match at his comeback marks a significant moment in his career, which came after nearly a year of absence due to injury. The 37-year-old played exceptional tennis defeating the talented Dominic Thiem with a 7-5, 6-1 victory.
He has been away from the sport after facing a second-round exit at the 2023 Australian Open in January. His severe injury raised doubts in his mind about his potential return to tennis. He had thoughts of retirement and declared 2024 to be his last year in tennis.
However, he has kept no stone unturned and has been training for a strong comeback. He recently announced that the Brisbane International tournament would be his first tournament which is a warm-up event to the forthcoming Australian Open where he received a wildcard entry.
After defeating Dominic Thiem in the first round of the singles rubber, he reflected on his comeback to be a positive one. The Spaniard emphasized maintaining good health and called it the most important thing to his longevity.
Rafa Nadal says his comeback match was positive, but his mindset is just to enjoy every single day he gets to play tennis:
— The Tennis Letter (@TheTennisLetter) January 2, 2024
“I have been honest, and for me nothing changed. It's only a positive start. I mean, it's just one match after a year that I played quite well, honestly. If… pic.twitter.com/dBA9xhOiOa
Nadal stated that his focus would be to play more and more matches and enjoy every match as it will be helpful for him to recover things and be more competitive in the future.
“My way to approach is just to enjoy every single day that I have the chance to be on court. If I am able to play more matches, it will be more helpful in terms of recover things that, of course, you need to recover if you want to be competitive.”
-Rafael Nadal in an interview
Jannik Sinner celebrates Rafael Nadal’s comeback on Instagram
Jannik Sinner has shown his interest in Rafael Nadal‘s comeback by sharing a Nike commercial that lit up the Brisbane skyline with the Spaniard’s logo.
Nike which has been the sponsor of Nadal since 2008, celebrated his comeback with a special commercial. The commercial showed the iconic ‘Raging Bull’ logo projected on the skyscrapers of Brisbane.
Among other tennis fans, it was Italian tennis player Jannik Sinner whom Nike also sponsors, who shared the commercial on his Instagram story on Monday, January 1.
