Tennis world erupts over Rafa Nadal act in return amid huge Alex de Minaur development

Rafa Nadal has made a highly successful return to tennis with a 6-2 6-3 win over Flavio Cobolli at the Barcelona Open. In the 22-time grand slam champion's first ATP event since January, the Spaniard breezed past his first-round opponent in just one hour and 25 minutes.

Nadal's win set up a mouthwatering second-round encounter with Aussie Alex de Minaur, who received a first-round bye. Nadal and de Minaur have played four times in their careers but only once since 2020 - in the United Cup last year where the Aussie beat the Spanish great 3-6 6-1 7-5.

The Barcelona Open is a tournament where the main court is named after Nadal and it is a venue where he has won the title 12 times. But following his win, Nadal said he isn't getting ahead of himself and is just grateful to be back on court. "I'm just having fun, happy to start with a victory," Nadal said on court after his win over Cobolli.

"When you are at an advanced age it makes things even more tough (to come back) but to be able to continue to be on the tour for a few days and practise with the guys, and to be able to compete a little bit, it means a lot to me. I'm not going to do anything that doesn't make sense right now. I'm not going to go out there and serve like crazy. I have to take it easy because that's what's needed at the moment."

Nadal had been on course to face Spanish compatriot Carlos Alcaraz in the semi-finals in Barcelona, but the 20-year-old was forced to withdraw on Sunday due to fitness concerns. "Let's hope he recovers well and quickly, it's bad for the tournament because he's the top seed," Nadal said on Monday. "(But) I'm not in a position to be thinking about the semi-finals."

The winner of Nadal-de Minaur will face either Daniel Altmaier or Arthur Fils in the third round after Altmaier beat Alexei Popyrin 6-3 7-6 (7-4). And after his round one performance fans are daring to dream that he could make a deep run in Barcelona and could even make history at Roland Garros.

Rafa Nadal grateful to be back playing tennis in final season

Nadal was anticipated to be in action at the Monte Carlo Masters last week but said his body was not ready for competition. The former World No.1 is expected to retire at some point this year, with many predicting the upcoming French Open - where he has won a record 14 titles - to be his farewell.

"More than lamenting where I wasn't able to be, I prefer to be happy that I am here," Nadal said on Monday. "On a personal level it is a gift for me to be in Barcelona. I'm taking this as my last year and I want to enjoy every moment.

"We'll keep going forward until I have the feeling that it's not worth it. I'm not putting a deadline on that, but as I've said, in the end life marks your path for you.

“That is what I have been doing my whole life. To think about what is going on day-by-day and just try to adapt to the situation, try to be able to improve under any circumstances to be a better player. That is what I did all my life and it worked well.

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“Now I am in a different perspective of my tennis career, a different moment and I am trying to enjoy every moment. I was not able to spend a lot of days on tour over the last two years, so I just want to enjoy every day I am able to play with the guys on a professional level. That means a lot for me.”

with AAP