Rafael Nadal vs Dominic Thiem LIVE: Brisbane International latest score as Spaniard makes tennis comeback

It’s a fast, responsive court here in Brisbane which appears to be helping Nadal in these early stages as he goes 30-0 up.

Now he’s up to the net and that’s a superb touch! It didn’t look like Nadal would get there but it’s a deft flick over the net, sending Thiem the wrong way and claiming the point. He serves out to make it eight from eight on service so far.

A strong start for the Spaniard.

Not a bad start, either, for Thiem on serve as a lovely forehand sees him take an early 30-0 lead on service but he has no response to a thunderous Nadal forehand which brings it back to 30-15.

A good response, though, from the Swiss who fires down two big serves to level things up.

Well, that’s not a bad start! A thunderous flat forehand down the line penetrates the court and leaves Thiem helpless as Nadal claims the first point of the match.

Before long, he races into a 40-0 lead and as Thiem’s return goes long, it’s a comfortable and assured hold of serve to kick things off.

Rafa will serve first in this match and, with the warm-ups down, we are ready to get started in Brisbane…

Thiem should be the sharper of the two, not only because of Nadal’s lay-off but because he has had to come through two rounds of qualifying to reach this point. The Swiss saved matched points against Australia’s James McCabe before beating Giulio Zeppieri to reach the first round proper.

I’m careful to say return to singles action because, technically, Australia has already seen the Spaniard back in action a few days ago in the doubles tournament.

Nadal played alongside fellow countryman Marc Lopez but lost in straight sets to the Australian duo of Max Purcell and Jordan Thompson.

But here he comes now, returning to singles action as the crowd cheers him onto the court.

There’s certainly no soft touch for Raducanu on her return to competition.

The Brit is into the second round but faces a difficult clash against No.2 seed and last year’s Wimbledon finalist Elina Svitolina after the Ukrainian came through her clash against Caroline Wozniacki.

A tough ask but that’s for another day. Right now, we are back in Brisbane and awaiting the return of Rafa Nadal to singles action.

“Thank you to everyone for coming out and staying late – I really appreciate the support. It was a match with ups and downs; it’s always difficult playing a friend but I love being back in Auckland and I’m having a blast so far.

“It’s difficult after having such a long hiatus but I’m grateful to be healthy and able to move my body; not bed-ridden or in a wheelchair so it’s pretty amazing to just be out here and playing. I’m just really happy to be back on tour and I can’t wait to start this season and carry on hopefully injury-free and healthy.”

Ruse 3-6 6-4 5-7 Raducanu

But over in Auckland, it’s victory for Raducana who wins for her first time back on the court in eight months! The Brit was 0-30 down on serve in that final game but a great comeback in that game saw her finally get over the line after more than two hours on court.

The Spaniard is still waiting to take the court in Brisbane but he’ll have a tough time today against Dominic Thiem, who himself has had his well-documented issues with injury. The pair have faced each other 15 times on the ATP circuit with the Spaniard leading 9-6.

The Austrian has, however, won both their last two meetings – at the 2020 ATP Finals in Turin and at the quarterfinals in the 2020 Australian Open.