Rafael Nadal is famously a creature of habit and yet, during his prolonged absence from the game, his trademark tics and routines have inevitably faded a little in the memory. So as the 37-year-old Spaniard emerged on to the stadium court that bears his name at the Barcelona Open, three months after his aborted comeback in Australia and 681 days after his last appearance on clay, there was a comforting sense of familiarity.
It was felt in the way that Nadal acknowledged a rapturous welcome from the 8,500-strong crowd with his signature greeting, a single raised arm fading into a salute. It was felt in the way he bounced around at the net during the coin toss before sprinting back to the baseline. It was felt in the meticulous arrangement of his water bottles, the labels pointed diagonally towards the court, and in the way he strode along the baseline between points, sweeping away loose clay with his foot, at one with the red dirt on which he has won a dozen titles at the Reial Club de Tenis Barcelona.
Most obviously, it was felt in the summary manner he dispatched Flavio Cobolli, a 21-year-old Italian ranked 62 in the world, in his first match since early January. It was not a perfect performance – understandably, given that it was only his fourth match in 15 months. Yet there was enough of the old Nadal on show, enough fizzing topspin forehands and muscular athleticism, to encourage a cautious sense of optimism as he embarked on a road that he hopes will lead to Roland Garros, the scene of 14 of his 22 grand slam triumphs, in six weeks’ time.
“Even before the match started, the court was full, so that means a lot to me to be able to walk on court today and feel that warmth and that support,” said Nadal following a solid 6-2, 6-3 victory. “In a very special place for me, it’s so helpful and means a lot to me to receive that support and that love.”
The only indication of the physical problems that have kept Nadal off the tour since he suffered a minor muscle tear during a quarter-final loss at the Brisbane International in January was the diminished pace of his serving. Admittedly, that did not prevent him from winning a healthy 78% of the points behind his first delivery. But a stronger opponent than Cobolli, who sprayed 41 unforced errors as he struggled to come to terms with the pressure of the occasion and the presence of a living legend across the net, might have punished Nadal’s caution.
In Alex De Minaur, the fourth seed and world No 11, Nadal will face just such an opponent in the next round. Yet Nadal has not won 92 singles titles in his career without learning how to pace himself through a tournament, and against Cobolli he did what all champions do in early rounds: just enough to win. As he pointed out, to have attempted more, at a time when he is trying to ease himself back into competition after struggling with an abdominal injury for the past two months, would have made little sense.
“For me, the main thing is to have the chance to grow,” said the former world No 1. “There were things that [could have given] me the possibility to play better today, but don’t give me the possibility to play the next day or the next couple of days – or, in terms of weeks, in Madrid or Rome.
“Probably I will be smart enough to not try to serve at my highest level today. I think I am not able to serve 100% free of problems. I didn’t have pain, honestly, today, but I didn’t serve much for the past two months. I’m just trying to do things the way I really believe that [I should]. I’m just trying to push when I really need to push, if I can.”
Given his medical history, Nadal’s reluctance to do too much, too soon seems prudent. Two summers ago, a torn abdominal muscle forced him to withdraw from the semi-finals of Wimbledon, and he subsequently suffered a recurrence of that injury at the US Open, where he was beaten in the fourth round by Frances Tiafoe.
Nadal’s caution extends to predictions of the kind made by Stefanos Tsitsipas at last week’s Monte Carlo Masters. Asked about the 12-time champion’s prospects in Barcelona, Tsitsipas said he wouldn’t be surprised to see Nadal reach the final. Nadal dismissed the notion, however, focusing on the challenge of facing De Minaur.
“Today to say that I am favourite I think is stupidity, Tsitsipas knows that it’s not the case,” said Nadal. “I understand what he says as respect for what I have done in this tournament. Everybody knows I am not favourite to win a tournament.
“I didn’t have the slightest idea if I was favourite today. I know tomorrow [against De Minaur] I will not be.”