Rafael Nadal made a remarkable comeback on Tuesday in the first round of the Barcelona Open by defeating Flavio Cobolli. Absent from the court for three months due to injury, Nadal secured a convincing victory by changing the momentum of the match and winning 6-2, 6-3 against the Italian player ranked 62nd.
Nadal, the king of clay courts, will now face Alex de Minaur in the second round, who he will encounter for the first time in the tournament. Nadal has won the Barcelona Open title 12 times in the past.
Nadal Returns to Competitive Tennis After Injury Break; Rublev Stumbles, Nakashima Shines
Nadal had played an exhibition match with Carlos Alcaraz in March and had been away from competitive tennis since then due to injury. His last competitive tournament was the Brisbane Open in January, where he played only three matches before withdrawing from the Australian Open due to the same injury.
In other matches of the day, world number eight Andrey Rublev suffered an unexpected defeat against America’s Brandon Nakashima, losing 4-6, 6-7. This marks Rublev’s third consecutive first-round loss after previously failing to advance in the Miami Open and the Monte Carlo Masters. On the other hand, Nakashima defeated a top-10 player for the second time in his career, having previously defeated Hugo Rune in the Shanghai Open last year.