Brisbane International: Rafael Nadal Is Out, Lost To Jordan Thompson

 

Rafael Nadal's return to the track has come to an abrupt end after his stunning defeat by Jordan Thompson in the quarterfinals of the Brisbane international. 

The Spaniard had been in an impressive form until coming into the match that lasted for nearly three and half hour with Jordan making a rally to win in three sets, 5-7, 7-6(6), 6-3. The Australian stood up to the strong forehand of the former world no. 1 in his rally to upset him. 

Jordan dug really deep to make a comeback from 1-4 in the tiebreak of the second set and also denied Nadal two match points at 4-6 to win four straight points to win the set. Nadal had an injury spell in the third and took medical time out before losing to the Australian. 

The 37-year-old received a warmth welcome to the track from both Carlos Alcaraz and Novak Djokovic after he neatly defeated Dominic Thiem in straight sets after nearly a year-long hiatus from the sport. 

Delightful Jordan described the victory as his happiest moment for having "to beat Nadal in Brisbane at home" for his first semi-final appearance on hard-court. He will face Grigor Dimitrov in the semi-finals.