Rafael Nadal revels in Australian Open return to sweep past Yannick Hanfmann

It was not always clear that Rafael Nadal would make it back to the Australian Open this year, but 20 seasons into his illustrious career, he has developed a knack for blowing past even the most generous expectations.

Nadal is indeed in Melbourne, he has already won five matches in the new year and for the first time in his career he is at a grand slam tournament without either of his greatest rivals, Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic. On Wednesday, Nadal returned to Rod Laver Arena and saw off a strong performance by Yannick Hanfmann to win 6-2, 6-3, 6-4 and reach the third round of the Australian Open.

Nadal’s troubles last season had been a long time coming. As he emerged from the early lockdowns of 2020, he suffered a flare-up of a chronic left foot injury, Muller-Weiss Syndrome, which has affected him since he was young. By the time his classic French Open semi-final match against Novak Djokovic was done, he had reached his limit. Nadal played only one other tournament in 2021 before ending his season.

As he prepared his return in December, Nadal contracted Covid on his way back from Abu Dhabi like the majority of players at the event, which he said left him “very sick with fever” and in bed for a couple of days. It was not a positive moment: “A month and a half ago I didn’t know if I would play tennis again at a professional level due to various factors, including the problems I’ve had with my foot and with covid,” he told Eurosport Spain.

Instead, shortly after he returned a negative test and was cleared to enter Australia, he quietly boarded a flight to Melbourne. Expectations are tempered, but the first steps have been smooth and Nadal won the ATP 250 event in Melbourne. After his Australian Open first-round win