Nadal easily wins second round of Brisbane International

Australia's Rafael Nadal continued to show great form upon his return, defeating Jason Kubler 6-1, 6-2 on January 4.

Nadal has reached the quarterfinals of an ATP tournament for the first time since Wimbledon 2022. The "King of Clay" continued to show his peak tennis, overwhelming home opponent Kubler. In the last eight, Nadal will face another Australian player, Jordan Thompson.

Nadal hits a forehand during his match against Kubler in the second round of the Brisbane International on January 4. Photo: AFP

Nadal won 12 of the first 13 points to lead 5-0. Kubler then called for medical attention because of a right shoulder injury. When he returned, the Australian won a game but quickly lost the first set 1-6.

Nadal said he had watched Kubler's pre-match replays and knew the Australian was a very consistent baseliner. As a result, the Spaniard was always proactive in setting up his own shots and not giving his opponent time to think during the rallies. Kubler's two-handed backhand was not bad, but Nadal was still pushing him to the limit, leading to many unforced errors.

The second set saw Kubler rally after losing his first serve. But Nadal was too strong for the world No. 102. The Spaniard's movement had also improved significantly since his match against Dominic Thiem in the previous round. Despite having to save a break point at one point, Nadal did not lose a single serve throughout the match. He won 6-1, 6-2, in a match where his opponent won just 18% of his second-round points.

"I need the matches, I need more strength," Nadal said after the match. "The matches in Brisbane helped a lot. For me, playing every day is good news. I'm happy because I feel like I'm competitive again."

Nadal and Thompson will play the latest match at Pat Rafter Arena tomorrow, January 4. Also in the quarterfinals are other famous players such as Holger Rune, Grigor Dimitrov and Roman Safiullin - who defeated Carlos Alcaraz at the Paris Masters last year.

Vy Anh

Source link: https://vnexpress.net/nadal-thang-de-vong-hai-brisbane-international-4697096.html