Rafael Nadal feels Dominic Thiem will end up with ‘much higher ranking’ this season after beating him convincingly in Brisbane

In the world of sports, players usually offer a piece of advice to others, and this time Dominic Thiem was on the receiving end of Nadal’s advice. After a year, Nadal made a fabulous comeback to tennis, beating Thiem 7-5, 6-1. After the match, he had a few kind words and advice for the Austrian in the future.

Since the 2020 US Open win, Thiem has not been able to replicate the same kind of form to date and is still trying to come back to his best level. During the Brisbane International post-match interview, Nadal was asked if he had any advice or encouragement he could offer to the 30-year-old.

To this end, Nadal had a wonderful answer that gave insights into the performance of Thiem in those couple of years. Nadal spoke about how Thiem struggled initially after an injury, which resulted in losing many matches and the ranking as well, thus lowering his confidence. 

Well, I think for him it's been a tough beginning after the injury. That makes things very difficult for him at the beginning, no, because I don't know if when he came back he was healthy enough to play, to feel himself playing free. And that probably affected him a lot at the beginning losing a lot of matches in a row. Then it's tough to recover the confidence. Not only recover your level of tennis, it's about recovering the confidence.

Rafael Nadal said via via Brisbane Press

However, the Spaniard also praises the 30-year-old for his performance last year and how it had been a good year for him to win some matches and get his ranking above the 100 mark. At last, Rafa reckons that his opponent deserves to be at a higher rank and not just above 100.

I think the last year has been a positive year for him because after a tough time, he was able to come back to top 100. Something that is not easy. I think he start the year again with the ambition to make a positive year and to finish the year with a much higher ranking, that I think is something that should happen if he is healthy.

He further added

Rafael Nadal wins an emotional match to announce his return to tennis

After a hard 349 days, Rafael Nadal fights through all the injuries to make a return to Australia and wins his first match on return. He picks up from where he left off and advances to the next round of the Brisbane International. He now faces Jason Kubler in the Round of 16 of the tournament. 

After months of practice, Nadal prepared for his comeback at the doubles tournament with Marc Lopez but lost in the first match. However, as compensation for that, he makes an even bigger return in the singles leg, promising the fans a better year.

He will also make a return at the Australian Open and hopefully carry on this momentum to give good competition to others. After today, fans have started to believe that Rafa has returned and will be a good competitor for Novak Djokovic’s title defense at the Australian Open.

In Case You Missed It:

• Rafael Nadal’s comeback makes it loud and clear, that the legend definitely “knows how to play in a professional match”
• “Always difficult playing a friend,” Emma Raducanu secures her ambitious victory at Auckland and makes sure there is a “next round”

Stay Updated!

Join our newsletter to receive exclusive updates and curated insights directly to your inbox.

Subscribe NOW