Rafael Nadal impresses in 'emotional' comeback match in Brisbane

It took all of one point to gauge Rafael Nadal's level on his long-awaited comeback to tournament tennis.

Competing in his first singles match on Tuesday after almost a year out with a hip injury, Nadal dispatched a trademark inside-out forehand winner with just the third swing of his racquet. Any doubts about how sharp the Spaniard might be were answered seven seconds into his first-round match at the Brisbane International.

Nadal has been understandably keen to keep expectations low, insisting he is not thinking about competing for majors just yet and admitting 2024 could well be his final season on tour. Yet, his 7-5, 6-1 cruise past Dominic Thiem would have done little to ease those expectations, at least externally.

Granted, the Thiem Nadal faced on Tuesday is far from the player who won the 2020 US Open and climbed as high as third in the world rankings; the Austrian, like Nadal, is making his own gradual comeback, from long-term wrist injuries.

Still, the first set was of good quality. Both players impressed on serve and struck the ball well, while Nadal's footwork and movement around the court belied his lengthy absence. There was also nothing wrong with his game management nor his usual brooding intensity; at the first sign of wilt from Thiem's serve, Nadal applied the pressure and forced a break at the fourth attempt to seal the first set.

From there, Nadal ran away with it. As Thiem's first-serve percentage dropped from 68 to 50 per cent in the second set, Nadal seized control, breaking his opponent in the second and sixth games to ease to victory.

Perhaps most pleasing, Nadal served superbly throughout, winning 90 per cent of points on his first serve, which he was accurate with almost 70 per cent of the