"An emotional and important day for me" - Rafael Nadal makes honest admission about 'one of the toughest years of his career' after Brisbane 1R win

Rafael Nadal was victorious in his first match in nearly a year, beating Dominic Thiem 7-5, 6-1 on Tuesday (January 2) to reach the second round of the 2024 Brisbane International.

The 37-year-old had been out of action since last year's Australian Open, where he suffered a hip injury en route to a second-round exit. He trained hard to regain his physical conditioning and put up a strong display on Tuesday to deny hisopponent.

During his post-match interview, Nadal admitted that the first-round win marked an "emotional and important day" for him, as he endured "one of the toughest years of his career" in 2023 owing to his injury woes.

“Today is an emotional & important day for me. After one of the toughest years of my career I had the chance to come back after a year and play in front of an amazing crowd," Nadal said during the on-court interview.

"I think at a very positive level, it’s something that makes us feel proud. For myself, for all the team, family that’s been there every day the last year," he added.

The Spaniard also spared a word for Dominic Thiem, who suffered from a wrist injury in 2021 that derailed his career in the top-most rungs of the game.

"I know Dominic had been going through some hard times with injuries too, so happy to see him on court and I wish him all the very best for the season," he said.

Rafael Nadal was then asked to shed some light on his team cheering for him from the stands. The 22-time Major winner expressed his gratitude towards not only them but the local fans in Australia as well.

"It's the support is super important, especially when in the low moments, no? So having the chance to receive thousands of messages during all this year and having great people next to me every single day makes the difference without a doubt," he said.

"And you know, I missed being healthy. I missed, of course, being feeling myself competitive and playing in front of full crowds like this that have been all, all my career here in Australia have been amazing, supportive for me," he added. "So, I can't thank enough, everyone."

I had enough work to be focussed and to remember how to play in a competitive professional match: Rafael Nadal

Rafael Nadal hits a forehand against Dominic Thiem.

Towards the end of the interview, Rafael Nadal was told that he had tied Ivan Lendl's record of 1,069 match wins with his first-round victory in Brisbane. In his response, the Spaniard admitted that he was totally unaware of the statistic as he was nervous about his comeback possibly going south.

"As you can imagine today was not a statistic that I have been aware of. So I was, I had enough work to, to just be focused to come back on court and to remember how to, how to play in a competitive professional match, no?" the Spaniard said while laughing.

"Have been, you know, nerves before the match and of course, doubts because you don't know how the thing's going on after such a long time. But things went well and I am excited to be back again tomorrow," he added.

Nadal will next face local favorite Jason Kubler for a place in the quarterfinals of the 2024 Brisbane International. The Spaniard has never met the Aussie on the main tour to date, so their head-to-head record stands at 0-0.