Finally, Rafael Nadal is back.
Nadal will be playing an official ATP tournament for the first time since Brisbane in January when he takes the court for opening-round action at the Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell on Tuesday. The entirety of his 2024 body of work is a quarterfinal performance in Brisbane (lost to Jordan Thompson) and a three-set loss to Carlos Alcaraz at the Netflix Slam in early March.
The 37-year-old Spaniard traveled to the United States for the Las Vegas exhibition against Alcaraz with hopes of playing in Indian Wells immediately thereafter. However, Nadal soon announced that he was not yet healthy enough for true ATP competition and he ended up withdrawing from Masters 1000 events in Indian Wells and Monte-Carlo.
He is reportedly good to go now, though, and will face Flavio Cobolli in his comeback match. It’s far from the toughest possible draw at this ATP 500 tournament, but it’s also not the easiest. Cobolli has begun making a name for himself this season with nine main-tour match victories–giving him 15 for his career. The 21-year-old Italian reached round three of the Australian Open and made back-to-back quarterfinal appearances in Montpellier and Delray Beach, but he has cooled off considerably in recent weeks.
The analysis for Tuesday’s contest is, of course, very straightforward. If Nadal is close to 100 percent, he should give Cobolli a clay-court lesson. If he is a shadow of his real self, the world No. 62 obviously will have a chance.
In all likelihood Nadal may take a set to find his footing, but in the end the 22-time Grand Slam champion and 12-time winner in Barcelona should advance.
Pick: Nadal in 3
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