Rafael Nadal made a triumphant return from injury in the first round of the Barcelona Open, defeating Flavio Cobolli in straight sets in impressive fashion.
The 37-year-old was playing just his second tournament in 15 months, having picked up another injury at his comeback event in Brisbane in January, but showed no signs of rust as he comfortably saw off his 21-year-old opponent 6-2 6-3.
Nadal received a hero’s welcome as he strode out onto the court that bears his name and, although there were a few loose forehands in the early stages, the 22-time Grand Slam champion was too strong for Cobolli.
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Nadal sent this winner from downtown to get the Barcelona crowd on their feet
The young Italian understandably looked nervous and contributed to the scoreline with far too many errors, but a big factor in that was the pressure being exerted from the other end of the court.
A blip came when Nadal, who is set to retire at some point this season, played a poor game to drop serve for the first time in the third game of the second set but he had already broken Cobolli and quickly restored his advantage.
There were some vintage forehands from Nadal in the final stages and he clinched victory when Cobolli netted a final backhand, thrusting his fist into the air.
“I enjoyed an unforgettable moment,” Nadal said of his victorious return. “I’m just having fun and I’m happy to start with a victory, without a doubt.
“I tried a lot of times in my career [to come back], it’s true! Every time it’s more difficult and especially when you’re at an advanced age it makes things even tougher.
“I am going through tough moments but, at the same time, when I am able to be on the Tour for a few days and be able to practice with the guys, to be able to compete a little bit, it means a lot to me.”
The 12-time champion in Barcelona will face fourth seed Alex De Minaur of Australia in the second round as he continues to gear up to the start of the French Open on May 20, where he is a record 14-time winner.
De Minaur is currently enjoying the best season of his career, having broken into the world’s top 10 for the first time.
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Nadal sent this winner from downtown to get the Barcelona crowd on their feet
‘It’s good news for Nadal’
“A very welcome return from Rafael Nadal. It’s all smiles in the camp,” Miles Maclagan told Sky Sports Tennis.
“As much as the result he appears to have got through it in good shape physically, which is going to be the number one concern for the next few matches.
“What kind of stress can that body handle? The rest of the game looked to be in pretty good form.
“Nadal showed good touches early on so it’s good news for him.”
Tale of the Tape
Norrie wins in bizarre fashion
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Highlights of the second round of the Barcelona Open as Cameron Norrie defeated Harold Mayo
British No 1 Cameron Norrie is through after facing a bizarre interruption to his match when his opponent’s phone rang.
French qualifier Harold Mayot was about to serve early in the second set when he had to run to his bag and turn the device off.
The 22-year-old was switched on enough to take the match to a deciding set, saving three match points in a second tie-break.
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Mayot shocked the crowd after retiring having just levelled the match with Norrie
But having already received treatment on a groin injury, Mayot was forced to retire at the start of the third with the score 7-6 (7-3) 6-7 (6-8).
Meanwhile, second seed Andrey Rublev destroyed his racket at the end of a 6-4 7-6 (7-6) defeat by Brandon Nakashima that continued his poor run of form.
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Andrey Rublev obliterated his racket after a shock defeat to Brandon Nakashima
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