Rafael Nadal is rolling right along at the Brisbane International.
Playing his first tournament since the 2023 Australian Open, Nadal is through to the quarterfinals of this season-opening ATP 250 after destroying Jason Kubler 6-1, 6-2 on Thursday night. Building on a 7-5, 6-1 victory over Dominic Thiem in round one, the 37-year-old Spaniard needed just one hour and 24 minutes to power past Kubler.
Nadal won 12 of the match’s first 13 points, raced to a 5-0 lead in the first set, and eventually held from 0-40 down at 5-1. Kubler proceeded to get broken at love right away in set two and from there it was all over for the Aussie, who received treatment in between sets for a right-arm issue.
Nadal finished with four aces, won 80 percent of his first-serve points, and saved four of four break points.
“I think I started the match playing very well, with a very good determination,” Nadal commented. “I saw videos of Jason before the match and I saw him playing very solidly from the baseline, so I came on court and tried to be aggressive with my shots from the baseline. It worked very well.
“I think it was a very positive match for me and the chance to play again tomorrow means a lot to me. Two victories after a long time being outside of the professional tour is something that makes me feel good.”
Next up for the 22-time Grand Slam champion is Jordan Thompson, who got a walkover from Ugo Humbert (illness).
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