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After endless days of arguing about a nagging back injury and his inability to compete in the week leading up to the Australian Open, Rafael Nadal finally returned to competition for the first time in three months on Tuesday. He easily beat Serbian Laslo Djere 6-3, 6-4, 6-1 to advance to the second round after testing his back for the first time.
Nadal had not competed since the ATP Finals, when he ended the 2020 season in a flurry of mixed emotions. Although he fell to Daniil Medvedev and Dominic Thiem then, both were close defeats. He left for the offseason hoping for more progress and was satisfied with his work. During one of his first practice sessions with Dominic Thiem in Adelaide, everything was undone by a stiff back.
His presence on Tuesday was a reassuring sight for many. After skipping the ATP Cup and not serving until a few days before he was due to compete, Nadal managed to do it at a level high enough to keep his opponent at bay. At no point was he uncomfortable and won 83% of the points on his first serve. He limited his effort by moving close to the baseline and dictating points as soon as the opportunity arose.
Nadal said he had to modify his service movement to control pain. “It is difficult to understand for people who do not play tennis professionally. But clearly the shot that is limited is my serve, “he said.
“In the other takes, I’m not limited. What happens is when you serve [with the injury], you must be careful with every move. So when the serve lands and you have to follow the second ball, the recovery is slower.
“This has repercussions on the general game. It does not allow you to play with the aggressiveness or intensity that playing without thinking gives you. When you serve every time thinking about what to do so as not to make the situation worse, it is evident that the whole game is affected “.
It makes sense. In the first set, Nadal lost rhythm on his serve and fell from 5-1 to 5-3 (0-30). In the first two points of the 5-1 game, he struggled with his first shot after his serve, spraying two unforced errors in a row before his game fell apart.
At 5-3, he again started the game by not reacting quickly enough to Djere’s return. A better opponent would have punished him, but the world number 53 made two poor mistakes at 0-30 and the opportunity was gone.
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Nadal is counting on his body to improve, but will be left without the preparation of a preparation tournament unlike his rivals. During an interview with Eurosport, he described himself as “an expert in living with these problems after so many years.”
The world No. 2 has often played through pain or came under preparation many times and often made it through in the end. Will try to do it again.
Tomorrow a day off. The day after tomorrow, another game, “he said. “I need to go from day to day and try to stay positive. Every day that I try to stay here longer is a day with the possibility of finally getting better, so that’s what I’m trying to do. Trying to do everything possible to be ready to compete, which is why I came here. “
Some players forced into a hard quarantine continued to struggle with simply competing again. Victoria Azarenka, two-time Australian Open champion and 12th seed, was the most significant victim, physically suffering when she was defeated 7-5 6-4 by Jessica Pegula, the world number 61.
“Did I feel fully prepared? No, ”she said. “But also going into a grand slam, or a tournament, it’s like, ‘Okay, I’ll have to do the best I can with what I have.’ That was my mindset. I felt like I had done the best I could. “
