Tennis
Rafael Nadal earns ‘important’ Brisbane win over Kubler as return continues – The Guardian
![](https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/1819f0ec85c7ed732c30b4556850f5511b2fa92f/0_117_6192_3715/master/6192.jpg?width=1200&height=630&quality=85&auto=format&fit=crop&overlay-align=bottom,left&overlay-width=100p&overlay-base64=L2ltZy9zdGF0aWMvb3ZlcmxheXMvdGctZGVmYXVsdC5wbmc&enable=upscale&s=5855993728fbd96ae66b078edbdf9a85)
Rafael Nadal continued his impressive return from injury with a dominant win over Jason Kubler at the Brisbane International.
The 22-time grand slam champion played his first singles match for nearly a year following a hip injury in the opening round against Dominic Thiem and built on that performance by seeing off Kubler 6-1, 6-2. Nadal, who shrugged off a time violation in the second set for taking too long to change his clothes, told reporters in Brisbane: “It has been a positive match, without a doubt.