Tournament in Barcelona

Rafael Nadal against Flavio Cobolli – LIVE from 4 pm

Rafael Nadal

(Bild: APA/AFP/Pau Barrena)

Tennis legend Rafael Nadal has reached the second round of the ATP 500 tournament in Barcelona. The Spaniard's comeback got off to a perfect start as the 37-year-old beat Italy's Flavio Cobolli 6:2 and 6:3 on Tuesday.

Rafael Nadal celebrated a convincing comeback on the ATP Tour in Barcelona on Tuesday. The 37-year-old Spanish tennis top star, who had taken a 103-day break after his elimination in Brisbane, defeated the Italian Flavio Cobolli 6:2, 6:3 in the first round. Nadal will meet Australian Alex de Minaur, who is seeded No. 4, in round two.

Fond memories
The 22-time Grand Slam winner had recently withdrawn from the tournament in Monte Carlo because he did not feel fit enough. But in Barcelona, where he has won the title no fewer than twelve times (most recently in 2021), he impressed in his first match since his quarter-final exit in Brisbane on January 5. Hard groundstrokes, good speed and almost completely his old self.

"The fact that I can play in Barcelona is a gift for me," Nadal had already said before the match. "I'm treating this year as my last and want to enjoy every second of it. That makes everything a bit more special, that's how I feel at the moment."

"Gets more difficult every time"
Nadal is certainly not thinking about a 13th title in Barcelona just yet. "I'm happy that I started with a win. The older you get, the more difficult it is to come back after an injury," he breathed a sigh of relief after his 475th win on clay in his career.

Andrei Rublev, on the other hand, has already been eliminated. The Russian, seeded No. 2, lost 4:6, 6:7(6) to the US American Brandon Nakashima in the second round.