Rafa Nadal storms into Brisbane quarters
Rafa Nadal continued his impressive return from a long injury layoff with a 6-1 6-2 demolition of wildcard Jason Kubler to reach the quarter-finals at the Brisbane International on Thursday ahead of this month’s Australian Open.
Out for nearly a year with a hip problem that required surgery, the 22-time Grand Slam champion overpowered Kubler in 83 minutes to book his place in the last eight.
Nadal had an impressive start as he cruised to a 5-0 lead before Kubler could even settle inside the Pat Rafter Arena.
“I think I started the match very well,” Nadal, whose stunning shots included a spectacular backhand smash, said in an on-court interview and will now face Australian Jordan Thompson.
“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.”
“Two victories after a long time being outside of the professional tour is something that makes me feel good,” added the Spaniard, referring to Tuesday’s win against Austria’s former world number three Dominic Thiem.
