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Rafael Nadal beats Australian Kubler to advance to quarterfinals in Brisbane

Sydney, Australia, Jan 4 (EFE).- Spaniard Rafael Nadal defeated Australian Jason Kubler 6-1 6-2 in the second round of the Brisbane tournament on Thursday, in his second match after his comeback victory over Austrian Dominic Thiem on Tuesday.

Kubler, who was invited by the tournament organizers, put up less of a fight than the Austrian and was overpowered from the start by Nadal, whom he was facing for the first time in his career.

After dropping only one point in the opening game due to a double fault, Nadal immediately marked his territory with a break in the first game on the service of his opponent, who could not stand the intensity of Nadal’s game.

Such was Nadal’s initial dominance that, apart from the Spaniard’s double fault in the first game, Kubler did not score another point until the fourth game of the match, when he hit a beautiful backhand volley that seemed to bring him back into the contest, although it did not prevent him from losing his serve again at the end.

Under the watchful eye of Carlos Moya and the rest of his team, Nadal faced unforced errors, which makes sense after his long layoff, with more and more winning shots that reminded him why he has won 22 Grand Slam titles.

Despite avoiding a break in the opening set, the Australian showed little resistance against the former world number one, who took the first set 6-1 in just 41 minutes.

The second set was more of the same with an early break for the Spaniard. However, the Australian put up some resistance at the start of the set, partly due to double faults and other unusual errors from the Spaniard.

Besides the brilliance of some winning shots, Nadal’s fluidity of movement was a highlight after the long break due to his physical problems.

In the last part of the match, Nadal was once again aggressive and dominant, leaving his opponent with few options. He closed the match with a brilliant backhand winner to advance to the quarterfinals of this tournament, where he will meet the also Australian, Jordan Thompson. EFE

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