Rafael Nadal falls in quarterfinals of tour comeback in Brisbane - ESPN

BRISBANE, Australia — Rafael Nadal missed three match points and needed a medical timeout Friday before losing to Jordan Thompson in the quarterfinals of his tournament comeback following a yearlong injury layoff.

The 22-time major winner failed to convert a match point in the 10th game of the second set and two more in the tiebreaker before the No. 55-ranked Thompson rallied to win 5-7, 7-6 (6), 6-3 at the Brisbane International.

With the Australian Open starting Jan. 14, Nadal's rehabilitation from the hip injury and surgery that sidelined him for most of 2023 will be tested.

The 37-year-old Spaniard opened the tournament with straight-sets wins over Dominic Thiem and Jason Kubler but was pushed for 3 hours, 25 minutes by Thompson in what was his third match in four nights.

Nadal's energy level visibly waned at the start of the third set. After Thompson broke in the fourth game and then held for a 4-1 lead, Nadal was assessed by the trainer apparently for his upper left leg.

He left the court for a medical timeout before returning and playing on another 20 minutes.

After sending a backhand long on match point to end the longest rally of the match, Nadal walked around the net to embrace Thompson. He blew a kiss and waved to the crowd as he walked off Pat Rafter Arena around midnight.

Thompson also got the upper hand in a doubles match Sunday when he combined with Max Purcell to beat Nadal and Marc Lopez, the 2016 Olympic champions.

His reward this time is a semifinal against second-seeded Grigor Dimitrov, a former Brisbane International champion.

Top-seeded Holger Rune had a 6-2, 7-6 (6) win over James Duckworth to set up a semifinal against Roman Safiullin, who beat Matteo Arnaldi 7-6 (4), 6-2.

Aryna Sabalenka and