Rafael Nadal beaten in first match back since injury in Brisbane ...
Nadal ‘happy’ to be back but admits - ‘I don't have the expectations that I used to have’
Rafael Nadal was beaten in straight sets in his first match back since injury in a doubles clash with Marc Lopez in the Brisbane International.
Nadal hadn’t played since suffering a hip injury nearly a year ago in the second round of the 2023 Australian Open when he was beaten by Mackenzie McDonald.
Playing alongside Lopez there were glimpses of the old Nadal magic, including a couple of sumptuous backhands and some fine net play.
However, Nadal and Lopez couldn’t find a way past Australian duo Max Purcell and Jordan Thompson and they eventually fell to a 6-4 6-4 defeat.
'Incredible intensity' - Nadal wows Rune and Murray in practice sessions
And the Spaniard’s time in Brisbane isn’t over yet, with Nadal drawn to play against Dominic Thiem in the singles in a hotly anticipated first-round match.
Earlier in the day, Nadal’s two practice partners Andy Murray and Holger Rune showed some good stuff as a doubles pairing but ultimately succumbed to a tie-break defeat to Aslan Karatsev and Roman Safiullin.
Murray and Rune took the opening set, having taken the first game of the match with a break.
The second set produced the same pattern with Karatsev and Safiullin taking their break to force a match-deciding tie-break.
That went 10-5 in their favour, breaking Murray and Rune in each of their last four service points.
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