'Means a lot to me' – Nadal makes triumphant clay return after emphatic win over Cobolli

Rafael Nadal made an emphatic return to clay, cruising to a 6-2 6-3 win over Flavio Cobolli in the first round of the Barcelona Open.

The 37-year-old ended an almost two-year wait to compete on the surface once again after winning the 2022 French Open men’s singles final, and dispatched the Italian in the space of one hour and 25 minutes.

After already missing the Australian Open, Indian Wells and the Monte-Carlo Masters, the 22-time Grand Slam winner rolled back the years in Catalonia.

This was a routine win for Nadal in his first meeting against the Italian, who was straining every sinew to keep himself in the contest.

After the opening three games went by way of serve, his admirable early resistance was ended when the Spaniard claimed his first break to lead 3-1.

Cobolli claimed a hard-fought hold at 2-4 after surviving four Nadal break points, but only prolonged the inevitable, as Nadal broke through the Italian’s serve again to draw first blood at 6-2 after a mere 43 minutes of play.

The world No. 62 was then a set and a break down at 0-2, and the writing looked very much on the wall for the Italian.

He broke back immediately, but surrendered on his serve once again and failed to gain any sort of momentum in this triumphant return to Nadal’s favoured surface.

The Spaniard sealed the contest on his second match point with a hold to 15, and will face what looks set to be a much stiffer test against the fourth seed Alex De Minaur on Wednesday.

Speaking after the match, he said: “I have done that [come back from challenges] a lot of times in my career; it’s true that it gets more difficult when you are at an advanced age.

“I am going through tough moments, but at the same time, when I am able to be on the tour for a few days and practice with the guys and then compete a little bit, means a lot to me.

“It’s still enjoyable enough for me to keep doing it.”