- Jannik Sinner Wins ATP Fan Favorite Award for Second Straight Year
- Aryna Sabalenka Voted 2024 WTA Player of the Year
- Etcheverry, Tabilo Join Paul in Houston Field
- Belinda Bencic, Nick Kyrgios Will Play Australian Open on Protected Rankings
- Garden Cup Stars Alcaraz, Shelton, Navarro and Pegula Sell Out Madison Square Garden
- MSG Networks to Air The Garden Cup Live Tonight
- Tara Moore and Simona Halep Slam ITIA, Claim Double Standard in Doping Cases
- Lendl, Massu added to Hurkacz’s coaching team for 2025
- Tennis Channel To Televise The Garden Cup on Wednesday, December 4
- Carlos Alcaraz, Taylor Fritz Commit to Laver Cup 2025
- Romanian Tennis Star Sorana Cirstea Chooses Master Coach Sven Groeneveld
- BNP Paribas Open Indian Wells Thanksgiving Holiday Offer Complimentary Valet Parking
- Fils, Mensik, Shang on list for December’s NextGen ATP Finals
- Iga Swiatek Serves One-Month Suspension After Failing Doping Test
- Alix Ramsay Shares Her Thoughts with 10sBalls on the Tennis finals the WTA Finals Held In Saudi Arabia
Nadal off to strong start at Brisbane International, into quarterfinals
- Updated: January 4, 2024
Here comes Rafael Nadal!
It may be too early, of course, to crown Nadal the soon-to-be Australian Open. Heck, he has a long way to go before he can even win the Brisbane International. Whatever the case, Nadal’s comeback to tennis after missing almost all of 2023 is off to an outstanding start. The 37-year-old has advanced to the quarterfinals in Brisbane with wins over Dominic Thiem and Jason Kubler.
Following a 7-5, 6-1 victory over Thiem on Tuesday, Nadal erased Kubler 6-1, 6-2 on Thursday night. The 22-time Grand Slam champion will meet another Aussie, Jordan Thompson, in the quarters on Friday.
“I think I started the match playing very well, with a very good determination,” Nadal commented. “I saw videos of Jason before the match and I saw him playing very solidly from the baseline, so I came on court and tried to be aggressive with my shots from the baseline. It worked very well.
“I think it was a very positive match for me and the chance to play again tomorrow means a lot to me. Two victories after a long time being outside of the professional tour is something that makes me feel good.”
Nadal and Thompson will be going head-to-head for the third time in their careers. Unsurprisingly, the Spaniard took both of their previous meetings; 6-1, 7-6(3) at the 2020 Paris Masters and 6-2, 6-2, 6-2 at Roland Garros in 2022.
Ricky contributes to 10sballs.com and also maintains his own tennis website, The Grandstand. You can follow him on Twitter at @Dimonator.