ATP roundup: Rafael Nadal returns with Brisbane win

Field Level Media|published: Tue 2nd January, 11:18 2024

Rafael Nadal waives to the crowd before his match against Borna Coric in the Western & Southern Open at the Lindner Family Tennis Center in Mason, Ohio, on Wednesday, Aug. 17, 2022. credits: Albert Cesare / USA TODAY NETWORK

Spain's Rafael Nadal defeated Austria's Dominic Thiem 7-5, 6-1 at the Brisbane International in Australia on Tuesday for his first win in nearly 12 months.

The 22-time grand slam winner, sidelined since the 2023 Australian Open due to injuries and hip surgery, never faced a break point in the 89-minute match. Nadal, 37, will face Australia's Jason Kubler in the second round.

Germany's Yannick Hanfmann eliminated No. 5 seed Sebastian Korda 7-5, 6-4, Slovakia's Lukas Klein knocked out No. 6 Sebastian Baez of Argentina, and the Czech Republic's Tomas Machac defeated No. 7 Tomas Martin Etcheverry of Argentina. Other winners included Australians James Duckworth, Rinky Hijikata and Jordan Thompson, Germany's Daniel Altmaier and Italy's Matteo Arnaldi.

Hong Kong Tennis Open

No. 5 seed Jan-Lennard Struff had to work overtime for a 3-6, 7-6 (4), 7-6 (7) victory over Croatia's Marin Cilic in the opening round.

Struff struck 11 aces and saved six of 10 break points in the three-hour, seven-minute match. Cilic offset 20 aces with a dozen double faults and nearly twice as many unforced errors as Struff (31-16).

No. 6 seed Lorenzo Musetti of Italy defeated Hong Kong's Chak Lam Coleman Wong 6-4, 7-5 and No. 8 Arthur Fils of France held off Croatia's Borna Gojo 6-3, 4-6, 6-1. Also advancing were Liam Broady of Great Britain, Miomir Kecmanovic of Serbia, Austria's Sebastian Ofner, Switzerland's Marc-Andrea Huesler and Spain's Roberto Bautista-Agut.

—Field Level Media

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