Ruthless Nadal storms into Brisbane quarters

05.01.2024 - 11:35 channelnewsasia.com

BRISBANE: Rafa Nadal continued his impressive return from a long injury layoff with a 6-1 6-2 demolition of wildcard Jason Kubler to reach the quarter-finals at the Brisbane International on Thursday (Jan 4) ahead of this month's Australian Open.Out for nearly a year with a hip problem that required surgery, the 22-time Grand Slam champion overpowered Kubler in 83 minutes to book his place in the last eight.Nadal had an impressive start as he cruised to a 5-0 lead before Kubler could even settle inside the Pat Rafter Arena.The Australian held his serve in the sixth game and threatened to break the Spaniard in the next but Nadal came back from 40-0 down to seal the opener.With Kubler hampered by a right elbow issue, Nadal broke in the opening game of the second set and again in the seventh before serving out the match."I think I started the match very well," Nadal, whose stunning shots included a spectacular backhand smash, said in an on-court interview and will now face Australian Jordan Thompson."I saw videos of Jason before the match and I saw him playing very solidly from the baseline, so I came on court and tried to be aggressive with my shots from the baseline.""Two victories after a long time being outside of the professional tour is something that makes me feel good," added the Spaniard, referring to Tuesday's win against Austria's former world number three Dominic Thiem.Former French Open champion Jelena Ostapenko beat Karolina Pliskova 6-2 4-6 6-3 to reach the quarters in the women's section of the tune-up event for the Melbourne Park Grand Slam, which runs from Jan 14-28.Third-seeded Latvian Ostapenko, who will meet former world number one Victoria Azarenka for a place in the last four, raced through the first

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MELBOURNE : Daniil Medvedev had a disappointing Australian Open last year but is changing things up this time around as he looks to retain some energy at the back end of the season as well as present a new face to the world.

Rybakina and Pegula battle into Adelaide quarters

ADELAIDE :World number three Elena Rybakina overcame Cristina Bucsa in two hard-fought sets to make the quarter-finals of the Adelaide International on Wednesday, while Jessica Pegula and Jelena Ostapenko had to work even harder to make the last eight.

Pegula and Ostapenko battle into Adelaide quarters

ADELAIDE :World number five Jessica Pegula and former French Open champion Jelena Ostapenko prevailed in gruelling three-setters to make the quarter-finals of the Adelaide International on Wednesday.

Rafael Nadal pulls out of Australian Open due to ‘micro tear’ on a muscle

Rafael Nadal will miss the Australian Open after sustaining an injury during the Brisbane International earlier this week.

Rafa Nadal to miss Australian Open due to muscle tear

Rafa Nadal will miss the Australian Open this month after the Spaniard suffered a small muscle tear during his comeback from a long injury layoff at the Brisbane International last week, the 22-times Grand Slam champion said on Sunday.

Elena Rybakina, Holger Rune Power Into Brisbane International Finals

World number four Elena Rybakina put on a serving masterclass as she stormed into the Brisbane International women's final Saturday, while top seed Holger Rune battled through to the men's decider. Russian-born Kazakh Rybakina blasted eight aces past Czech teenager Linda Noskova on her way to a 6-3, 6-2 win, breaking her opponent once in the first set and twice in the second. Rybakina, who won Wimbledon in 2022, has only lost 12 games on the way to the final and is yet to drop serve in a perfect build up to the Australian Open, where was runner-up last year to Aryna Sabalenka.