Wildcard Rafael Nadal clinched his second victory upon return beating local Jason Kubler 6-1, 6-2 in only 83 minutes to reach the Brisbane International quarterfinals on Thursday.
Nadal broke Kubler to love in the second game and eased to a 5-0 lead in the opening set, while the Australian showed some resistance in the sixth game to get on the board. He proved himself a real threat at the upcoming Australian Open when he dominated the second set again, breaking first and sealing the deal on a determined backhand.
Rafael Nadal celebrates during Brisbane International second-round match in Brisbane, Australia, January 4, 2024. /CFP
"I think I started the match playing very well, with a very good determination," said Nadal after the second-round match. "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," he added.
The Spaniard is taking this opportunity to warm up for the first Grand Slam of the year, the Australian Open set to start on January 14, after he suffered an early exit at Rod Laver last year due to a hip injury and went through two operations. Earlier this week, he downed his fellow French Open finalist of 2018 and 2019, Austria's Dominic Thiem, 7-5, 6-1 in the first round, which the 37-year-old said was a highly emotional win for him. "Today is honestly an emotional and important day for me after probably one of the toughest years of my tennis career without a doubt," said Nadal on Tuesday, embarking on a promising start in what he said would be his last season.
The 22-time Grand Slam winner will next play against another home favorite, Jordan Thompson, who advanced in a walkover after France's Ugo Humbert withdrew due to illness.
Also on Thursday, No. 2 seed Grigor Dimitrov of Bulgaria beat Germany's Daniel Altmaier 6-1, 6-2 to set up his next round with Australia's Rinky Hijikata, who enjoyed a 5-7, 6-2, 7-6 (4) victory over Czech Tomas Machac.