After being absent from tennis for 11 months, Rafael Nadal made a strong comeback despite losing the match.

Rafael Nadal experienced a loss in his doubles match upon his return to the court following almost a year of absence.

The 22-time winner of major tennis tournaments has been absent from the sport due to a hip injury sustained during a match in the Australian Open in January. In June, Nadal had surgery and made his comeback at the Brisbane International on Sunday, playing alongside Marc López, his partner for winning the gold medal at the Rio Olympics in 2016.

The pair fell to a 6-4, 6-4 defeat to the Australian duo of Max Purcell and Jordan Thompson, but there were some promising signs from the 37-year-old. “It’s great to see Rafa back,” said Thompson. “I’ve been on the receiving end a couple of times in singles, so it’s nice to get him back on a doubles court.”

At 37 years old, Nadal received a warm welcome from fans who waved Spanish flags and showed their support with messages. The biggest cheers were for his signature whipped shots and a strong crosscourt backhand winner in the first set. In his upcoming singles match on Tuesday against qualifier Dominic Thiem, Nadal can expect a similar reception. He has a 9-6 record against Thiem and has beaten him in the 2018 and 2019 French Open finals.

Formerly ranked as the top women’s player in the world, Naomi Osaka will return to the court after taking time off for maternity leave. She is scheduled to face Tamara Korpatsch on Monday. The 26-year-old Japanese player last played on the tour in September 2022 and gave birth to her daughter, Shai, in July.

Sloane Stephens, a previous winner of the US Open, had a successful start to her campaign by defeating Katerina Siniakova 7-5 6-3. Camila Giorgi also advanced to the second round after overcoming a tough challenge from Peyton Stearns with a score of 5-7 6-2 6-3. In addition, 16-year-old Russian player Mirra Andreeva secured her spot in the next round with a 6-2 6-3 victory against Diana Shnaider.

In a loss for Great Britain, Boulter achieves her largest victory yet in her career.

Despite Katie Boulter’s impressive victory over world No. 5 Jessica Pegula in Perth, Great Britain ultimately lost 2-1 to the United States at the United Cup.

The new iteration of the global mixed team tournament has been reduced, with each round consisting of two individual matches and one doubles match. Despite being ranked 51 spots lower than Pegula, Boulter, the top British player, emerged victorious in the first match on Sunday with a score of 5-7, 6-4, 6-4 against her American opponent. However, losses by Cameron Norrie and the duo of Boulter and Neal Skupski in the mixed doubles event resulted in the defending champions winning the overall competition.

If Britain had won, they would have advanced to the quarter-finals. However, there is still a possibility for any of the three teams in Group C to move on to the next round before the final match between the US and Australia on Monday.

Pegula seemed on track to begin the Americans’ quest to defend their title with a win, winning six consecutive games to take the first set and lead 3-0. However, Boulter fought back and achieved her first victory against a top-five opponent in her seventh attempt. Her previous highest accomplishment was defeating then-world No 7, Karolina Pliskova, at Eastbourne and Wimbledon in 2022.

She stated, “I am proud of my performance and feel like I played exceptionally well. The work I put in during pre-season has given me a lot of confidence. I believe I have improved significantly as a player compared to a year ago. My goal was to achieve wins based on rankings.”

Norrie was defeated by Taylor Fritz in the second singles match, resulting in a best-of-three tie. Fritz emerged victorious with a score of 7-6 (5), 6-4, serving 14 aces compared to Norrie’s three. Norrie only managed to make 54% of his first serves.

Boulter and Skupski had a strong beginning in their match against Pegula and Fritz in the mixed doubles. However, the American duo ultimately won with a score of 1-6, 7-6 (4), 10-7.

Source: theguardian.com