Nadal went another gear and entered Brisbane’s quarters through the big door

Second game and second win. Rafa Nadal continues to make strides in his set-up after nearly a year off and this Thursday he achieved a resounding victory (6-1, 6-2) against Jason Kubler in the round of 16 of the Brisbane tournament.

It was a truly comfortable match for the Balearic player, who dominated with an iron hand from the start against a very short opponent hampered by problems with his right elbow.

Very stable in service and in full control from the back of the court, Nadal did not give options in the first games where he marked the ground and he made it clear that he did not intend to shock despite his obvious lack of filmmaking.

Two consecutive breaksthe first blank and the second after a marathon game in which Kubler seemed to put the champion of 22 Grand Slam titles in trouble, they put an overwhelming 5-0 on the scoreboard that the Australian was only disguised in the game of honour.

Another comfortable game closed a brilliant first set (6-1) where Nadal seems to be closer to the level he is used to with us in recent years.

After a long visit to the locker room that earned him a warning from the refereethe Spaniard started the second set with the same intensity as the first and, once again, achieved the early break that gave him the victory.

A Kubler who was clearly weakened by his physical problems did not give up and, after 2-0, he showed his best shots, knowing that time was running out and his choices involved a radical change in his game.

He didn’t make it. Nadal controls his rival’s attacks all the time and pushes his serves forward until the seventh game, when Kubler gave him another break after a regrettable game full of mistakes.

All that was left was to get the job done, and Nadal did so with another comfortable service game.one of the aspects that stands out the most in his return to the courts despite the excessive double faults today.

“I think I started the game in the best way, with a lot of determination. I was aggressive and very solid from the bottom monitor. I saw videos where Kubler was very strong there,” explained the former world number 1 at the foot of the court, where he commented with humor on the warning he received for delaying his return to the court.I had to change everything I was wearing…“.

“For me, having the chance to enter the quarterfinals means a lot. Spending more minutes on the court is good news. Happy about it and I feel competitive after a year without,” added Nadal, who They will meet this Friday (not before 11 Spanish peninsular time) with another Australian, Jordan Thompsonwho passed the round of 16 without having to go to court after the resignation of his rival, Frenchman Ugo Humbert.

This is the third confrontation between Nadal and Thompson, 29 years old and number 55 in the ATP ranking. The previous two ended in comfortable victories for the Spaniard, in November 2020 in the round of 16 of the Paris Bercy Masters 1000 (6-1, 7-6) and in May 2022 in the first round of Roland Garros (6-2, 6-2 , 6-2).