Nadal hits a phenomenal angled passing shot against Thompson in Brisbane He’s still got the quick movement that’s been so effective throughout his entire career But his finesse & touch shots have always been so underrated. My goodness. 🇪🇸
Alarm bells are ringing! Rafael Nadal falls to Jordan Thompson and suffers hip problem in Brisbane comeback
ATPFriday, 05 January 2024 at 14:55
Rafael Nadal has been eliminated from the Brisbane tournament after falling in a tough battle against Australian Jordan Thompson in three sets (5-7/7-6/6/6-3). He played a very solid first set and ended up taking it against an opponent who already made the first break of the tournament. In the second set Rafa had up to 3 match balls in his favor, but ended up wasting them and in the last set, as it is logical after almost a year off, he collapsed physically and, worst of all, he had a hip problem.
From 6-5 of the second set he began to feel problems in his hip, just when he had his first match ball. With 4-1 in his favor he resented the problem again and left the court to be attended by the physicists. Anyone else in his situation would have retired, but the he decided to continue playing. Now the big question is to know if he will be able to play in the Australian Open.
FIRST COMPLICATED SET.
The duel began as the previous two, with a very solid Rafa Nadal with his serve, almost sentencing the points with that first blow and thus getting his first game without suffering. Thompson was very solid with his serve. The Australian looked aggressive and very concentrated;
In his second game with his serve Nadal continued to be a spectacle. It seemed to be Carlos Moya who was playing with serves and forehands first. Eight first to get 2-1 at the beginning of the duel without wearing out;
In the second game of Thompson's serve, Nadal was 0-30, but the Aussie reacted well and ended up winning it by taking advantage of the fact that he was tracking back.
After hitting his first eleven serves, Rafa had to play with second serve for the next 3 points and Thompsons came back from 0-40 to a deuce, although in the end the Spaniard took the game to go 3-2 up;
The match became interesting halfway through the first set, with more rallies and with a very solid Thompson who held his serve despite the push of Rafa who was trying to control his shots from the back of the court;
FIRST BREAK AGAINST.
And in the next game came the first doubts of Rafa in the Brisbane tournament. It was normal that after his comeback he had to live these situations. Thompson's first break point came, which the Australian took advantage of to go 4-3 up and serve.
MASTER'S REACTION.
After the break, despite the fact that Thompson had at his disposal new balls on serve, Nadal reacted like a champion, subtracting deeper than ever and getting a counter break against the Australian;
Then the two players continued to hold their serves with difficulty until it was 6-5 to Rafa. At the moment of truth, a Thompson who had played an almost impeccable first set, he faltered.
SECOND SET.
In the second set Rafa started having several break opportunities, although both players managed to hold their serves in the early stages. After several complicated services, Nadal began to serve much better, especially doing it to the body of a Thompson who subtracted at a high level by placing himself on the baseline.
With 5-4 up Rafa had his first match ball, but missed a backhand volley into the net and the Australian equalized the vibrant set to five. The Australian then made him suffer on his serve, but Rafa secured the tie break with his serve.
TIE BREAK.
In those last games Rafa Nadal was treated for a hip injury by the physios. Normal, his first big effort in a long time. The duel ended up being decided in the tie-break. In sudden death Rafa came out very strong and won the first two points getting two mini-break at the first change and getting 3-0 up.
However, Thompson reacted perfectly to the rest and recovered the two mini-breaks. The tie-break was absolutely crazy. Rafa had two match balls, one of them on serve, but the Australian won four straight points being very aggressive and ended up taking the set;
THIRD SET - HIP PROBLEMS.
Very hard blow for Rafa Nadal to lose three match balls and end up giving in the tie break a sleeve after more than two and a half hours of play against a very tough player from the bottom of the track;
The dynamics at the start of the second set continued to reinforce a Thompson more and more enchudado that managed to break the serve of an increasingly tired and erratic Rafa to get 3-1 up;
With 4-1 on the scoreboard Nadal again complained of hip and had to leave the court to be attended by physios. Incredibly, instead of retiring after more than three hours of play, he returned to the court and won the next game (4-2).
Already with everything decided by the hip problem that prevented him from playing at level, a Thompson who played an extraordinary match ended up taking the match in three sets. Now the tension is in knowing if Rafa will play or not the Australian Open;
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