Rafael Nadal served double duty in his long-awaited return in Hamburg.

Returning to Hamburg for the first time since he defeated Roger Federer to claim the singles title seven years ago, Nadal got his feet dirty on the red clay playing doubles today.

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Nadal partnered 18-year-old compatriot Jaume Munar in a straight-sets doubles loss to Australian Open champions Fabio Fognini and Simone Bolelli.

It was Nadal's first match since he suffered a four-set loss to Dustin Brown in the Wimbledon second round on July 2.

The 10th-ranked Nadal is playing for his 67th career singles title and third of this season following title turns on the red clay of Buenos Aires and the grass of Stuttgart. He faces Fernando Verdasco in his singles opener tomorrow.

As you can see in the practice video above, Rafa is already working out his drop shot.



In his last clay-court doubles event, Nadal and Feliciano Lopez reached the semifinals in Stuttgart before conceding a walkover. Nadal partnered good friend Juan Monaco to win his ninth career doubles crown in Doha last January.

 

Dieses Training war für Rafael Nadal nicht wirklich ein Spaziergang. Für den Kollegen auf der anderen Seite vom Netz aber auch nicht. #rothenbaum2015 #rothenbaum #tennis #hamburg #betathomeopen #rafaelnadal #rafaelnadalfans #alexzverev123 #baho2015 #atp #olympiahh2024 #dasgibtsnureinmal #nike #niketennis #nikecourt #babolat

A video posted by Tennis am Rothenbaum (@rothenbaum) on

Jul 26, 2015 at 9:53am PDT