Tennis: very calm against Kubler, Nadal continues his journey in Brisbane

The former world number one will challenge another Australian, Jordan Thompson, in the quarter-finals on Friday. For his second return match, Rafael Nadal faced Jason Kubler, 102nd in the world (6-1, 6-2) in 1 hour 25 minutes. For his return tournament, Nadal continues on his merry way. Already on Tuesday, he won against Dominic Thiem (7-5, 6-1), almost a year after his last match, and having undergone two hip operations in the meantime.

And for his second match of the week in Brisbane, Nadal did not do well. Kubler, a native of Brisbane and therefore local to the stage, seemed crushed by the pressure and perhaps weakened physically. The former world number 1 was designated to serve first and started the match perfectly thanks to an ace, which set the tone for the rest of the round. Facing Kubler, winning his challenge without contest, he then broke from the start, winning a shutout on his opponent's serve. The first set was generally the same, Kubler still winning his service game (5-1). Without trembling, the Manacor bull won the first round, concluding a new shutout.

At the break, while Kubler was having his right wrist massaged, Nadal at the same time received a warning for staying too long in his bathroom break. Taking it with a smile, that didn't stop the Spaniard from breaking early in the second set. Kubler then sounded a (short) revolt, obtaining a break point to return to two games all. But Nadal finally won his face-off, and won the second set without a doubt. In the quarter-finals, he will challenge Australian Jordan Thompson, 45th in the world, before a possible expected shock against Rune on Saturday.

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