Nadal Fails to Convert Three Match Points, Resulting in Quarterfinal Loss During His Comeback Tournament in Brisbane

Rafael Nadal, in his first tournament after a year off due to injury, missed three critical match points and required medical attention during his quarterfinal match against Jordan Thompson at the Brisbane International. Despite a promising start, the 22-time major winner couldn’t clinch the match in the second set and ultimately lost to the 55th-ranked Thompson in three sets, 5-7, 7-6 (6), 6-3.

As the Australian Open approaches on January 14, Nadal’s recovery from his hip injury and surgery, which kept him out of action for most of 2023, is under scrutiny. After winning his first two matches in straight sets, Nadal faced a grueling 3-hour and 25-minute battle in his third match over four nights.

Nadal’s energy seemed to diminish in the third set, particularly after Thompson broke his serve and took a 4-1 lead. Nadal then sought a medical timeout for what appeared to be an issue with his upper left leg, returning to play for another 20 minutes.

Thompson now advances to the semifinals to face second-seeded Grigor Dimitrov. In other matches, top-seeded Holger Rune and Roman Safiullin won their quarterfinals, setting up a semifinal clash.

In the women’s draw, Aryna Sabalenka and Victoria Azarenka, both from Belarus, are set to face each other in the semifinals. Sabalenka, the Australian Open champion, continued her winning streak with a straight-set victory over Daria Kasatkina. Azarenka had a challenging match against Jelena Ostapenko but emerged victorious in three sets.

The tournament also saw Elena Rybakina advance to the next round after her opponent Anastasia Potapova retired due to an injury, setting up a match against Linda Noskova, who defeated Mirra Andreeva.