The second match of Rafael Nadal’s comeback is a step down in notoriety and probably even in competition level, but at this point obviously nothing can be taken for granted and no result is certain. It’s still a huge one for Nadal.
Following a 7-5, 6-1 victory over Dominic Thiem in his first match since the 2023 Australian Open, Nadal will be back in action at the Brisbane International on Thursday evening for a second-round meeting with Jason Kubler. It marks the first head-to-head encounter between the two wild-card entrants.
Nadal’s comeback match against Thiem was extremely encouraging, as he did not face a single break point the entire way. The opening set was competitive, but the 37-year-old Spaniard completely dominated the second. It should have come as too much of a surprise, as even though Nadal missed 11 months he is–of course–well rested and by all accounts looked great at practice in recent weeks.
Kubler advanced by getting a retirement from Aslan Karatsev on Tuesday with their match deadlocked at one set apiece (Karatsev had just won the second set set in a tiebreaker before suffering what appeared to be a bad knee injury). The 30-year-old Australian comes in at No. 102 in the rankings after not playing at all down the stretch in 2023 following a retirement at the U.S. Open due to injury.
With a match under his belt, Nadal should only be getting better and better. This will likely be one-way traffic from start to finish.
Pick: Nadal in 2
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