By Richard Pagliaro | @Tennis_Now | Friday, January 5, 2024
Rafael Nadal unleashed his fear factor forehand earning three match points tonight.
The scary sight of Nadal trudging to the lockeroom for a medical time down 1-4 in the third set sent a hush over the Brisbane crowd.
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Ultimately, Nadal returned to court to complete a 5-7, 7-6(6), 6-3 loss to inspired Aussie Jordan Thompson at the Brisbane International.
Thompson, who partnered compatriot Max Purcell to beat Nadal and his coach Marc Lopez in his Brisbane doubles opener, fought off three match points in the second set prevailing in a punishing three hour, 25-minute win.
Afterward, Nadal, who was playing his third match in his comeback from hip surgery last June, said he took treatment for his surgically-repaired hip.
However, Nadal is hopeful it's a sore muscle, normal pain for a veteran after a 12-month layoff, rather than a tendon or joint issue.
"Is a very similar place to what happened last year, but different stuff, no? I feel more muscle," Nadal told the media in Brisbane. "Last year was tendon. I feel the muscle tired. I mean, for sure is not the same like last year at all because when it happened last year, I felt something drastic immediately. Today I didn't feel anything. The only problem is because the place is the same, you are a little bit more scared than usual.
"In ideal world, I mean, is just the muscle supercharged after a few days of effort and a very tough match. That's will be the ideal thing, something that we know that can happen today. That is why I'm talking all the time that my goal is to try to be competitive in a few months."
If the issue is more than muscle soreness, Nadal said he plans to undergo tests on the hip.
The 37-year-old Spanish superstar showed plenty of positive signs in his first tournament since undergoing arthroscopic hip surgery on his left psoas tendon back on June 2nd. Nadal was quick off the mark, moved well, unleashed his trademark crackling topspin forehand and was in position to reach his first Tour-level semifinal since the 2022 Wimbledon, but could not close.
The king of clay concedes he's concerned by the overall state of his body given his age and mileage on his legs, but he's also encouraged by a solid showing in Brisbane.
"From this perspective, you don't know all the information that I have. From that perspective, the only thing that probably you see is I have been playing very well the last two matches," Nadal told the media in Brisbane. "It's true, I have been playing well.
"A lot of things can be happening in a body like my body after a year without playing tennis. So hopefully is just that, just a muscle that is supercharged. Is a normal process on that. If that's the thing, thing everything perfect.
"As I said, I didn't came here to win tournaments now, no? I just came here to try to come back and do it in a positive way. It was a very positive way. Then let's see. I really hope if the feeling on that leg is better and better tomorrow and after tomorrow, then it's perfect news. If not, as I said, we're going to do test and let's see."
For a moment, the blue Brisbane court presented an unsettling case of Deja Blue.
Twelve months ago, Nadal hobbled out of the 2023 Australian Open with that hip injury. American Mackenzie McDonald toppled the top-seeded and injured Nadal 6-4, 6-4, 7-5 in the 2023 Australian Open second round.
When Nadal took the medical timeout at 1-4 of the final set, an uncertainty hovered over fans. Nadal continued moving aggressively as he completed the match after treatment.
Departing Brisbane with much-needed match play as well as hip pain he hopes is muscle soreness, Nadal moves onto Melbourne with the Australian Open set to start on January 14th.
How will the 22-time Grand Slam champion's body recover from his Brisbane comeback?
Assuming he is fully fit for Melbourne, how will Nadal respond to his first best-of-five set matches in a year? And given injury-induced inactivity has seen his ranking drop to No. 672 how will Nadal post up against a potentially damaging AO draw?
Those questions can all be answered later this month.
These days, Nadal has learned to take it day by day—hoping he's ready to fight another day in Melbourne.
"I need to see how I wake up tomorrow morning," Nadal said. "I mean, we have been talking these last days, talking about the positive things.
"That's why I am not over-positive when I have been talking. I have been talking with a lot of precaution because I know after a year is difficult for the body to be playing tournaments at the highest level. When the things are becoming more difficult, you don't know how your body going to react.
"I need to be open. Nothing changed for me. The way I approach everything didn't change at all. I need to accept everything how it comes. If things happens, if I have one problem there, one problem to the other part of the body, I need to accept."
Photo credit: Chris Hyde