ATP Melbourne Summer Set: Nadal successful in doubles, Murray loses
Rafael Nadal (ATP No. 6) successfully passed his first test run for 2022.
by Florian Goosmann
last edit: Jan 04, 2022, 02:14 pm
The 35-year-old started 2022 with a win in Melbourne.
In doubles on the completely overcrowded Court 13, Nadal won against Sebastian Baez and Thomas Martin Etcheverry on the side of compatriot Jaume Munar 6: 3, 3: 6, [10: 4]. It was Nadal's first official match since his brief appearance in Washington in September 2021; previously Nadal had been out of action since his semi-final at the French Open. After the Washington stopover, he finally had to undergo an operation on his maladen foot. At the invitation tournament in Abu Dhabi in December, Nadal made his first comeback.
Nadal and Munar face Andrey Golubev and Franko Skugor in their second round.
In the singles, Nadal meets the winner of the match between Marcos Giron and Ricardas Berankis after a bye at the start. He is in top position ahead of Reilly Opelka.
Early exit for Andy Murray
Andy Murray (ATP No. 134) has already been eliminated. He was still in good shape in Abu Dhabi, but didn't hit much in Melbourne at the start of the season. The former world number one was defeated by the Argentinian Facundo Bagnis (ATP No. 76) 3: 6, 7: 5, 3: 6.