Sweet draw for Rafael Nadal at the ATP 250 Brisbane in what will be his return to competition after not playing since he was eliminated from the Australian Open in January 2023. He will face a qualifier in the first round and has avoided the toughest side of the draw;
Thus, in the second round he will face the winner of the Jason Kubler - Aslan Karatsev match and in a hypothetical third round (quarterfinals) he could meet rivals such as the French Ugo Humbert or the Australian Jordan Thompson.
Things would be complicated (as it is logical) in the face of a hypothetical semis with rivals like Andy Murray or Grigor Dimitrov (who play in the first round) or the cannonballer Tomás Etcheverry. For the possible final, the number 1 of the Brisbane tournament is the Norwegian Holger Rune and the other favorite of the other part of the draw is Ben Shelton;
POSSIBLE ROAD FOR RAFAEL NADAL TO BRISBANE FINAL
- FIRST ROUND - Qualifier
- ROUND 2 - Karatsev/Kubler
- Quarter-Finals - Humbert/Thompson
- SEMI-FINALS - Dimitrov/Murray/Etcheverry
- FINAL - Rune/Shelton