Returning to the court after 349 days, Rafael Nadal, the 22 Grand Slam winner, made a winning start in Brisbane International in the run-up to the Australian Open as he beat the Austrian Dominic Thiem in straight sets. Nadal, who suffered an injury during the last year’s Australian Open was out of the action for the whole year after getting his left hip operated on in June. Nadal made his return in doubles by partnering countryman Marc Lopez in a doubles loss to Australians Max Purcell and Jordan Thompson in Brisbane before getting his singles campaign underway with a win on Tuesday, January 22.
