The Spanish tennis player celebrates his return after half a year without competing and this Saturday he will play against Shapovalov
MADRID, 17 Dic. (EUROPA PRESS) –
The Spanish tennis player Rafa Nadal fell (6-3, 7-5) this Friday against the Scottish Andy Murray in the semifinal of the Mubadala World Tennis Championship, an exhibition tournament in Abu Dhabi, a match that marked his return to the courts since last month of August.
“Happy to be back. I hadn’t played with Murray for a long time and I’m happy to see him play at a high level. For me at least it’s a comeback, although it’s not the best game,” said the Spaniard on the track where he started. a new season, at 35 years old.
Both old acquaintances were measured five years after their last appointment, which was in Madrid, and the British showed the level that he left last year. A Murray that, after an ordeal of injuries and operations, seems to be close to his best version, to serve in 2022. Nadal is calmer, after undergoing surgery in September for a problem in his left foot.
The 20 ‘big’ champion celebrated the comeback itself, the option to compete at the highest level as he will be able to do on Saturday in third and fourth place of the tournament against Canadian Denis Shapovalov. Two high-level matches before traveling to Melbourne, where he will play an ATP tournament before the Australian Open.
It was difficult for the Spanish player to start against a more shot Murray in the Abu Dhabi event. For Nadal it was the premiere, after half a year without competing, and it was noticed in the first set, although he had the first option of ‘break’. The one from Manacor lost his serve in the sixth game and Murray remained very reliable in his game.
Nadal improved in the second set, found more his right and legs was fast, but Murray did not go down. The winning shots gave the Spanish confidence to finish starting halfway through the sleeve, but with his serve the British suffered much less. A ‘break’ in the eleventh game sentenced the match.