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Reef Nadal has been proclaimed champion of Melbourne Summer Set, ATP 250 category preparatory tournament for the Australian Open, which begins in just eight days, after beating in the final to Maxime Cressy, number 112 in the world.
In his first singles tournament after his comeback, the Balearic tennis player, who won to the American by 7-6 (8/6) and 6-3. Winner of 20 Grand Slam titles, the same as Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic, he thus achieved the 89th title of his career, the first since Rome last May.
In Melbourne Park, where the first ‘Grand Slam’ of the season will be played, Nadal has played his first official matches since August 2021, after five months of recovery from his foot injury and after having overcome the coronavirus.
Nadal has not lost a single set in his three matches this week (not counting his rival’s loss in the quarterfinals), although a double fault offered Cressy a set point in the final tie-break. However, in the end the Spanish imposed his authority to take the victory in just under 1 hour and 45 minutes.
With 33 winning strokes, Nadal showed that he is starting the year strong against the near horizon of the Australian Open, the first Grand Slam of 2022.
Nadal, 35, now world number six, had played just a couple of games in Washington since his lost semi-final at Roland Garros last June, weighed down by recurring left foot problems. The Mallorcan, in addition, was infected with covid-19 at the end of December during an exhibition tournament in Abu Dhabi.
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