After a slow start, it did not take Rafael Nadal long to find his stride in his first match of the 2017 ATP World Tour season as the ninth-ranked Spaniard made both his season and Brisbane International debuts on Tuesday, snapping a two-match skid against Alexandr Dolgopolov in straight sets. After some early jitters, the Nadal would rally and take control of the match, blasting his opponent off the court for a 6-3, 6-3 victory.
Early Deficit No Problem
Through the first few games of the match, it was Dolgopolov in control, pushing Nadal around the court and keeping him off balance with his creative shot-making. Combining powerful flat shots with quick drop shots, Dolgopolov kept the fifth seed from getting into a rhythm and was rewarded for his persistence by punching a quick reflex-volley past Nadal to break in the third game, eventually holding for a 3-1 lead.
Dolgopolov was unable to put Nadal away, however, as the Spaniard began to claw back, reaching break point at 2-3. After hitting brilliant shot after brilliant shot up to that point in the set, the Ukrainian seemed to have run out of tricks as he dumped his backhand into the net to level the set at 3-3. With the score tied, the roles appeared to flip as Nadal began dominating with his thunderous groundstrokes, while Dolgopolov seemed no longer able to turn points around. Another error gave the fifth seed a break for 5-3 and he took advantage, overpowering Dolgopolov to wrap up the opening set.
Nadal Powers Through
The second set seemed to hit the reset button. Both men were back on level terms as they exchanged body blows on their way to 2-2. A desperation backhand block that became a passing shot winner from Nadal seemed to shift the momentum in his direction, as he would go from behind game point on Dolgopolov’s serve with a pair of dramatic winners, one at the baseline, one at the net after chasing down a drop shot, to break point. Failing to close out the game seemed to get to the Ukrainian, as he double faulted the break away.
Dolgopolov was not about to go away quietly, as he battled to double break point in the following game. But after Nadal saved the first, the Ukrainian missed a backhand to give away the opportunity and soon was trailing 4-2. After both men held to move the score to 5-3, Dolgopolov imploded while serving to stay in the match. The Ukrainian struck three straight unforced errors, including a backhand long on triple match point, to send Nadal into the second round after an hour and 15 minutes.
By the Numbers
The key to Nadal’s victory was his dominance over his opponent’s second serve. Dolgopolov only won seven points after missing his first serve, which he did 25 times. What made this even worse for Dolgopolov was that he only put 53 percent of his first serves in play, giving Nadal lots of looks at the weaker second serve. The fifth seed was also a perfect 4-0 at break point conversion while saving two of three break points against his own serve.
Nadal will play Mischa Zverev in the second round.