The former world number one was playing his first match since suffering a hip muscle injury in January.
Rafael Nadal made a triumphant return to the match court with victory over Flavio Cobolli in the first round of the Barcelona Open.
Nadal only committed to playing at the tournament he has won 12 times on Monday but there was not much rust on display as he eased to a 6-2 6-3 victory over 21-year-old Italian Cobolli in his first match on clay since he won his 14th French Open title in 2022. A blip came when Nadal, who is set to retire at some point this season, played a poor game to drop serve for the first time in the third game of the second set but he had already broken Cobolli and quickly restored his advantage.
“I enjoyed some unforgettable moments here so now I’m just having fun and happy to start with a victory without a doubt,” Nadal said courtside.“I tried a lot of times in my career, every time it’s more difficult and especially when you are at an advanced age it’s even tougher.
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