Rafael Nadal made mild work of Flavio Cobolli on a triumphant return from damage on the Barcelona Open on Tuesday. The 22-time Grand Slam champion had not performed an ATP Tour match since January however dispatched the Italian 6-2, 6-3 in a single hour and 25 minutes to succeed in the second spherical. Nadal, 37, was in a position to play on clay for the primary time since profitable the French Open in 2022 and confirmed flashes of his traditional brilliance in a stable show.
“It was a good start — when you return you can’t get rid of the doubts in one day, above all, on a physical level,” Nadal advised TVE.
“Within what it could be, it was a good first round. He made mistakes and I think I played the game that I had to play.”
Nadal who has triumphed at Roland Garros a file 14 instances, is hoping to play there in May in what he expects to be the ultimate yr of his skilled profession. The clay courtroom king, who missed most of 2023 injured, will face Alex de Minaur on Wednesday after breezing previous Cobolli.
“It will be at a speed that I don’t know if I will be able to keep up with, but I’ll try,” Nadal mentioned of dealing with the Eleventh-ranked De Minaur.
After a double fault to fall 30-0 behind Nadal discovered his rhythm, with Cobolli intimidated by the fervent help for the Spaniard on the courtroom named after him.
Nadal transformed his third break level within the fourth recreation for a 3-1 lead, with Cobolli surviving 4 extra to carry at 4-2 down. The 12-time Barcelona Open winner broke once more to assert the set in 43 minutes, clenching his fist in celebration.
Cobolli handed Nadal a break for 2-0 within the second set with two extra unforced errors however lastly put some stress on Nadal’s serve within the third recreation to interrupt again. However Nadal broke once more for 3-1 after Cobolli’s third double fault and served it out to triumph.
The Spaniard didn’t produce any aces and his serve was efficient however not explosive. “I’ve gone months without being able to serve, (and) although I’ve got a lot of excitement to play here and do the best I can, I’m not going to go crazy with the serve,” added Nadal.
“I have to serve with caution that the moment I’m in dictates… there are moments in which I feel more liberated and others in which I’m more careful.”
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