Rafael Nadal squanders three match points in Brisbane International defeat against Jordan Thompson. Rafael Nadal’s first singles competition since returning from injury ended in a riveting quarterfinal defeat against Australian Jordan Thompson at the Brisbane International on Friday. The Spaniard, playing in his first singles event in almost a year, won the first set and had three match points in the second before Thompson mounted an impressive comeback, eventually triumphing 5-7 7-6 6-3 in a tight encounter. The match lasted close to three-and-a-half hours and it was almost midnight in Brisbane when Thompson won an epic 33-shot rally – the longest of the match – to complete a thrilling victory, much to the delight of the home fans who had stayed late into the evening. Nadal, who struggled with injuries throughout 2023 and spent several months of the year recovering from hip surgery, took a medical timeout in the third set but returned to the court to finish the match. He will now face Grigor Dimitrov in the semifinals of the Brisbane International on Saturday, and the winner of that match will face either Holger Rune or Roman Safiullin in the final.
