Eleven short days after Rafael Nadal limped out of the Italian Open with a bitter flare-up of his chronic foot injury, he was a picture of comfort on Monday afternoon as he returned to the tournament of his life with a calm opening victory. Nadal moved into the second round without incident, defeating the Australian player Jordan Thompson 6-2, 6-2, 6-2.
“[It] is a good start, of course, straight sets. That’s it. I mean, I played good for a while. Then things that I could do better and I need to do better. But is a positive start, and that gives me a chance to have one more day on practice tomorrow and then another chance after tomorrow.”
