Rafael Nadal took to the court Friday during the first day of the Mubadala World Tennis Championship, his first competitive event in over two months.
He did not disappoint.
The Spaniard — who takes the Sport cover for the Friday, December 30, 2016 edition of The National — breezed past Tomas Berdych in straight sets to set up a semi-final with world No 3 Milos Raonic on Friday.
Jon Turner writes from Zayed Sport City about how encouraged Nadal should be after returning to the court.
“The first set was vintage Nadal, who was quick to find his range on both wings, his topspin groundstrokes working to devastating effect, pulling Berdych from side-to-side to create the angles to land the killer blow. It is a tactic upon which Nadal has built his empire, and Berdych simply had no answer. The return of serve came back at Berdych deep and purposeful, ensuring Nadal dictated terms regardless of whether he was serving or receiving.”
Nadal himself spoke after the match about how pleased he was with the effectiveness of his forehands, as Ahmed Rizvi reports.
“That has been one of my main goals in these past couple of seasons — to rediscover my forehand,” Nadal said. “When I am hitting my forehands, I feel in control of the points.”
Also on the tournament's first day, David Goffin knocked off Jo-Wilfried Tsonga to set up a semi-final duel with world No 1 Andy Murray.
The National will have continued coverage of Mubadala through the weekend.
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