WATCH: The King of Clay Rafael Nadal is back on his favorite court with iconic forehand after two years!

Rafael Nadal progressed to the next round and will now face Australia's Alex de Minaur.

WATCH: The King of Clay Rafael Nadal is back on his favorite court with iconic forehand after two years!

Rafael Nadal had the crowd going with his stunning forehand (Image via Imago)

King of Clay Rafael Nadal is back. He played his first match since January this year on Tuesday (April 16) on the Pista Rafa Nadal court of the Barcelona Open.

In his first match, he met Italy’s Flavio Cobolli in the Round of 64 and defeated him easily with a scoreline of 6-2, 6-3. The match lasted for about an hour, during which the Spaniard displayed his famed forehand shots, the videos of which have started doing rounds on social media.

YouTube video

Nadal has won 12 titles in Barcelona. This is also his second tournament in 15 months. As mentioned, he previously played at the Brisbane International this year and lost to Jordan Thompson in three sets 7-5, 6-7(6-8), 3-6.

FS Video

Watch the video here:

He then went on to withdraw his name from the Australian Open, Indian Wells, Miami Open, and the season’s first clay tournament, the Monte-Carlo Masters, where he is an 11-time champion.

I enjoyed some unforgettable moments here, so now I'm just having fun and happy to start with a victory without a doubt. I tried [to come back every time it was more difficult and especially when you are at an advanced age, it's even tougher.
Rafael Nadal said after the match

Nadal added that he is enjoying himself at the moment, going on tour and competing, despite going through a tough time. If he picks up more injuries, then there is a possibility of him missing this entire year, which he hinted could be his farewell season.

Fans welcome Rafael Nadal on Barcelona court after two long years

Being a 22-time Grand Slam winner, Rafael Nadal still has the chance to join or surpass Novak Djokovic to have the most number of Grand Slam titles. But for that to happen, he needs to keep injuries at bay.

Rafael Nadal
Rafael Nadal (Image via Imago)

His fans are also praying for the same and at the same time, they are excited to see him playing on his favorite surface finally. Check out the fan reactions:

Nadal progressed into the next round and will face Australia’s Alex de Minaur. They have faced each other four times in their career, with Nadal winning three matches.

The Round of 32 match between them will be their first on clay, as their previous three meetings were on hard courts and one time on grass. They last met at the United Cup, the result of which came in the Australian’s favor.

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