Three years ago, when Rafael Nadal and Dominic Thiem last met across a net at the ATP Finals in London, it was in very different circumstances. Respectively ranked second and third in the world, they were familiar foes at the sharp end of big events, reigning grand slam champions and clay-court gladiators who occupied a rarefied world, one brimming with the promise of many triumphs to come.
For Nadal, at least, such moments have been plentiful, but both men have faced physical challenges since, Thiem struggling to recapture his best form after missing nine months with a wrist injury, Nadal suffering a hip injury at last year’s Australian Open that eventually required surgery. So as the Spaniard returned to the match court for the first time in almost a year, the relatively humble setting of the pair’s latest showdown, at an ATP 250 event in Brisbane, seemed to offer an appropriate reflection of their altered fortunes.
The standard of tennis, on the other hand, did not, Nadal producing a performance full of quality, spirit and intensity to clinch an absorbing contest 7-5, 6-1. It was a highly encouraging first step for the 37-year-old, who has been at pains to play down the sense of expectation surrounding his return but may have surprised even himself with the level he found against an opponent who initially matched him blow for ferocious blow. Ever cautious, Nadal was not about to get carried away.
“It’s only a positive start,” said Nadal, who has admitted this year could be his last on the professional tour. “I mean, it’s just one match, after a year, that I played quite well. If we take all the circumstances before that match, it has been a very positive match. [But] it’s just a match.
“First and most important thing today is to stay healthy, honestly. My approach didn’t change at all after this match. My approach is just to try to enjoy every single day that I have the chance to be on court.
“If I am able to play more matches, it will be more helpful in terms of recovering things that, of course, you need to recover if you want to be competitive.”
One thing Nadal has most certainly recovered is his serve, the bedrock of this impressive first display and the source of some outstanding numbers. The Spaniard, who did not face a break point throughout, dropped a total of just six points on his delivery, winning 90% of his first serve points and 80% on the second. Unsurprisingly, given those statistics, love holds quickly became the norm for the Spaniard.
With Thiem barely less effective on serve, the pattern of the contest quickly became clear, Nadal seeking to pin the former US Open champion in his backhand corner while Thiem looked to grasp the initiative early in the baseline exchanges with crunching forehands. Rarely can a match between players ranked 98th and 672nd have provided a more compelling spectacle.
Given the nature of the injury that kept him out for so long, Nadal’s movement was a natural point of focus in the early stages. He had looked comfortable enough in a first-round doubles defeat with Marc López, the Spaniard alongside whom he won an Olympic gold medal in 2016, and who is now a member of his coaching team. But a first singles match was always going to be the acid test, and Thiem was not slow to examine his rival’s athleticism with a teasing drop shot. Nadal’s initial step was perhaps fractionally slower than we have come to expect but, once he got going, there was nothing wrong with either his acceleration or the brilliant angled winner he produced at the end of the run. It will take many more such moments before he has the confidence of old in his body but, for now, he is content with what he called “a happy day for me”.
“I really think that I don’t forget how to play tennis,” said Nadal. “The only thing that’s going to be difficult [is] to make it in a professional match and in a very high level of tennis. Because at the end, you need to recover movement, something that takes time.
“After the surgery, you feel scared sometimes to do a [certain] kind of movement. You need to recover the speed and reading [of] the ball, making the things in automatic way. Something that you need matches to make happen.”
With his 1,069th ATP Tour victory, Nadal moved into fourth place on the list of most open-era match wins, pulling clear of Ivan Lendl but behind Novak Djokovic (1,089), Roger Federer (1,251) and Jimmy Connors (1,274). He will target a 1,070th success against Australia’s Jason Kubler, a straight-sets winner over Aslan Karatsev, the eighth seed, on Thursday.