Rafael Nadal To Return Tuesday In Brisbane Against Dominic Thiem!

Rafael Nadal will finally return to the singles court Tuesday in Brisbane. After 11 months away due to injury, the 37-year-old legend will take on Dominic Thiem in his first match back.

Thiem had to qualify into the event and then got drawn to play Nadal of all people. Nadal leads 9-6 winning the 2019 and 2018 French Open finals. Thiem has won the last two but they haven’t played in over three years.

“Im happy the way that I am practicing,” said Nadal over the weekend.

“I don’t have the expectations that I used to have in the past, especially for the beginning,” he added. “It’s obvious, no? It’s one year. It’s surgery. It’s not a long period of time practicing in a decent level.”

Nadal remains uncommitted to setting a retirement date.

“The problem about saying that’s going to be my last season is I can’t predict what’s going on 100% on the future,” Nadal said.

“It’s obvious that it’s a high percentage that’s going to be my last time playing here in Australia,” he added.

“You never know what’s going on, you know? I can’t predict how I going to be in the next six months. I can’t predict if my body will allow me to enjoy tennis as much as I enjoyed the past 20 years. I don’t know if my body will allow me to be competitive.

“It’s not an easy decision, but I know inside myself that is a high percentage it’s going to be my last one.”

The match is scheduled for 6:30pm in Brisbane on Tuesday or 3:30am ET in the U.S. tonight.

Nadal and good friend returned to doubles on Sunday but lost in straight sets.

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