Rafael Nadal will continue his comeback tournament when he faces Jordan Thompson in the Brisbane quarterfinals on Friday. No. 2 seed Grigor Dimitrov and wild card Rinky Hijikata are also aiming for a place in the semis.
(WC) Rafael Nadal vs. Jordan Thompson
It would be an understatement to say that Nadal’s return to tennis following an 11-month layoff has gone extremely well so far. The sample size is obviously still small, but his first two matches at the Brisbane International were very encouraging. Nadal, who missed almost all of 2023 due to a hip injury, opened with a 7-5, 6-1 victory over Dominic Thiem before crushing Jason Kubler 6-1, 6-2 on Thursday.
Up next for the 37-year-old Spaniard on Friday night is a quarterfinal meeting with Thompson, who trails the head-to-head series 2-0. The Australian was relatively competitive once, losing 6-1, 7-6(3) at the 2020 Paris Masters before getting clobbered 6-2, 6-2, 6-2 at the 2022 French Open. Thompson beat Aleksandar Vukic 6-3, 6-2 in the Brisbane first round and then got a walkover from Ugo Humbert (illness). That was a favorable stroke of luck for the world No. 55, but with the way Nadal is playing it looks like Thompson’s luck from the draw has run out. This has all the makings of one-way traffic.
Pick: Nadal in 2
(WC) Rinky Hijikata vs. (2) Grigor Dimitrov
Three Australians are into the Brisbane quarterfinals and Hijikata has done extremely well to keep his hopes alive in front of the home crowd. The world No. 71 downed countryman Thanasi Kokkinakis 7-6(8), 6-2 in round one before outlasting Tomas Machac 5-7, 6-2, 7-6(4) on Thursday afternoon.
This quarterfinal result has by no means come out of nowhere for Hijikata, who enjoyed a breakthrough 2023 campaign on the ATP Tour. Unfortunately for the former University of North Carolina standout, Dimitrov is in even better form. The 32-year-old Bulgarian finished last season at 14th in the rankings and it looks like it will be full steam ahead for him in 2024. He defeated Andy Murray 4-6, 7-5, 6-2 to kick things off and followed that up with a 6-1, 6-2 beatdown. Dimitrov always seems to play well in Australia and he should be able to take advantage of an opponent who is in form but also likely fatigued.
Pick: Dimitrov in 2
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