Rafael Nadal victorious in Barcelona Open comeback from injury | Tennis News
Rafael Nadal made a triumphant return from injury in the first round of the Barcelona Open, defeating Flavio Cobolli in straight sets in impressive fashion.
The 37-year-old was playing just his second tournament in 15 months, having picked up another injury at his comeback event in Brisbane in January, but showed no signs of rust as he comfortably saw off his 21-year-old opponent 6-2 6-3.
Nadal received a hero’s welcome as he strode out onto the court that bears his name and, although there were a few loose forehands in the early stages, the 22-time Grand Slam champion was too strong for Cobolli.
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Rafael Nadal shows his old skills after slicing a backhand past Flavio Cobolli.
The young Italian understandably looked nervous and contributed to the scoreline with far too many errors, but a big factor in that was the pressure being exerted from the other end of the court.
A blip came when Nadal, who is set to retire at some point this season, played a poor game to drop serve for the first time in the third game of the second set but he had already broken Cobolli and quickly restored his advantage.
There were some vintage forehands from Nadal in the final stages and he clinched victory when Cobolli netted a final backhand, thrusting his fist into the air.
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Rafael Nadal sends a winner from downtown to get the Barcelona crowd on their feet against Flavio Cobolli.
“I enjoyed an unforgettable moment,” Nadal said of his victorious return. “I’m just having fun and I’m happy to start with a victory, without a doubt.
“I tried a lot of times in my career [to come back], it’s true! Every time it’s more difficult and especially when you’re at an advanced age it makes things even tougher.
“I am going through tough moments but, at the same time, when I am able to be on the Tour for a few days and be able to practice with the guys, to be able to compete a little bit, it means a lot to me.”
The 12-time champion in Barcelona will face fourth seed Alex De Minaur of Australia in the second round as he continues to gear up to the start of the French Open on May 20, where he is a record 14-time winner.
De Minaur is currently enjoying the best season of his career, having broken into the world’s top 10 for the first time.
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