Nadal in quarter-finals on ATP tour after two years on the hard court, challenger expert awaits him

Thirty-seven-year-old Rafael Nadal, who returned to the professional courts of the ATP tour after a year, reached the quarter-finals of the ATP tour (ATP hard court event) for the first time in almost two years at a very well attended tournament in Brisbane, Australia.

In the eighth round he literally swept away the thirty-year-old Australian Jason Kubler, who incidentally was born and lives in Brisbane, 6:1 and 6:2. Rafael Nadal thus broke the record of Ivan Lendl. By the way, the fact that Kubler lives in Brisbane was one of the reasons why he received a wild card from the organizers.

The other is that he won the mixed doubles at the Australian Open last year with his 24-year-old compatriot Jaimee Fourlis from Melbourne. In singles, Kubler has never won an ATP tournament, but he has dominated seven Challenger and 12 ITF Futures tournaments, all of which have earned him $2.3 million in tennis.

Not so little for a kid who grew up in Brisbane’s troubled northern district in a family of a Filipino nurse and an Australian father who soon died of a cancerous tumor.

Rafael Nadal will still be the favourite in the next round

In the quarterfinals, Rafael Nadal will be the “next big expert” for challenger tournaments. Twenty-nine-year-old Jordan Thompson from Sydney. He has never won an ATP singles tournament either. Yet he often gets wildcards for big ATP tournaments and is a member of the Australian Davis Cup team.

The reasons are twofold, he can catch the favourites off guard with his steady play and he plays attractive tennis. This makes him a celebrated success in Challengers, which he has won eleven, plus five ITF Futures tournaments.

Still, perhaps his most memorable win is from the 2017 ATP tournament in London against Andy Murray, when Australian Jordan Thomson knocked out the then world number two and world number one after a nearly two-hour battle. Through tennis, this Australian earned almost five million US dollars, which is nothing compared to Nadal’s almost 135 million US dollars.

Their quarterfinal in Brisbane, like Rafael Nadal’s other matches, will be staged on Centre Court bearing the name of the Australian (now fifty-one-year-old) winner of the Australian Open and Davis Cup. Rafter will apparently watch Nadal’s match on television in Bermuda, where he now lives.

The Rafael Nadal – Jordan Thompson match is scheduled to be played from 11am on Friday, January 5. It will be broadcast by O2 TV Sport.

Source: ATP, Brisbane International