Rafael Nadal wins first clay court match in 681 days by beating Flavio Cobolli in Barcelona

Rafael Nadal is the king of the clay courts and after almost two years he is finally back where he belongs: playing a match on beautiful red clay.

Nadal won his first-round match at the Barcelona Open on Tuesday, beating world number 62 Flavio Cobolli 6-2, 6-3. And while it was only the first round, it was an extremely important match for Nadal. Due to injuries, it was the first time in nearly two years that he had played a competitive match on clay, his best surface. The last time Nadal played on clay was the final of the 2022 French Open, which he won.

Tuesday’s match was also the first competitive match he played since January, when he was forced to withdraw from the Australian Open due to a minor muscle tear in his hip.

Against Cobolli, the 37-year-old Nadal looked excellent. Perhaps not as eager to give up his body to save a shot as he once was, but there was never a moment when he seemed troubled or out of control. Cobolli, who is 21, seemed a little surprised to be beaten so easily by a man 15 years his senior and who had not played on clay in almost 700 days. But Nadal knows clay as well as tennis itself, and he seemed to glide across the court with ease. In short, he looked like Rafa again.

Nadal’s journey back to the court has been a long one. After winning the first two majors of 2022, he struggled with injuries and inconsistency to close out the season. Nadal’s 2023 began with a second-round loss at the Australian Open, and that’s pretty much where it ends. A hip injury that hampered him in that match turned into a debilitating problem, causing him to miss the rest of the season.

Nadal, born in Spain, has always felt at home in Barcelona. He has won 12 titles there in his career, so there is no better place to get back into the swing of things. He knows these courts well and he is playing on his favorite surface. His goal is to play again next month at Roland Garros (where he has won a whopping 14 titles), and if he can continue to avoid injuries, he will be able to do that — and maybe more.