By Chris Oddo | @TheFanChild | Thursday January 4, 2023
Rafael Nadal continued his torrid form in Brisbane as he blew past Jason Kubler.
Photo Source: Getty
Two matches in the books, zero sets lost and just nine games dropped. It has been a stunning start to a comeback for Rafael Nadal.
The Spaniard ended a 349-day hiatus from competitive tennis by thrashing Dominic Thiem in the first round at the Brisbane International, and on Thursday he followed up that victory with a devastating 6-1, 6-2 takedown of 102-rd-ranked Australian wild card Jason Kubler.
Nadal has put his best foot forward in Australia, as he seeks to put his career back on track and begin competing for the sports’ biggest titles once again.
“I think I started the match with very good determination,” Nadal said after his victory. “It has been a very positive match for me – to have the chance to play again tomorrow means a lot to me.”
The 22-time major champion needed just 83 minutes to get through, the only thing slowing him down was a time violation that he received after taking a few seconds too long to return to the court after a toilet break between sets.
Nadal saved all four break points he faced and won 80 percent of his first-serve points. He attacked Kubler’s second serve and won 9 of 11 points against it. He also won 43 percent of the points against Kubler’s first serve to set a quarterfinal with Australia’s Jordan Thompson.
“I need matches, I need health, I need to keep practicing well,” Nadal said. “Of course the last matches here help. Victories and hours on court helps. For me, every day that I have the chance to play is great news. Happy for that and happy that I came back after a long time and I feel myself competitive, that’s all that I want.”