Rafael Nadal has returned to play a singles match after almost a year of injury and has done so with a victory over Dominic Thiem in the first round of the ATP 250 in Brisbane. After the match, he spoke on court and thanked the support received in the most complicated year of his career:
"Thank you for the support since I arrived here, today is an emotional and very important day after one of my most complicated years, to be able to come back and play in front of such incredible fans, I think I had a positive level for the first day, it's nice to be able to do it in front of my family after such a hard year."
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Rafa Nadal d. Dominic Thiem 7-5 6-1 in Brisbane 37 years old. Almost 1 year away from the sport. A hip injury that required surgery. ✅1st win in 351 days. No injury could keep him away. No amount of time could fade his greatness. Welcome home, old friend. 🇪🇸❤️🇪🇸
About the match itself, he acknowledged that the first set had been very even and that the difference was made in the end with the break achieved. He had words of support for his rival, Thiem:
"The first set was very even, we were at a good level, then I was able to have the break at 6-5. I know Dominic has had a hard time with the injury, happy to see him play and may he do very well in the season."
He went on to make it clear that the support he has received from his fans and family has been key to his return and that, logically, he missed competing:
"Support is very important, especially in bad times, receiving thousands of messages and having people who love me around me makes all the difference. I missed being healthy, playing in front of a crowd like the one in Australia, feeling competitive again".
Finally, he was reminded that with this triumph he surpassed Ivan Lendl in number of victories, something he did not know and to which he does not give importance: "I did not know the statistics, I have enough work trying to get back on the court and trying to be competitive again. Things have been going well and I hope to play here again tomorrow";
