Nadal avoids Brisbane draw disaster, but danger still looms

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Rafael Nadal will return to action against a qualifier in the first round of the Brisbane International presented by Evie.

Unseeded following nearly a year off, Nadal avoided one of the top seeds in the first round of the ATP 250 draw. But there are plenty of accomplished players competing in Brisbane qualifying, including former Top 10 stars Dominic Thiem and Diego Schwartzman as well as 2023 Next Gen ATP Finals presented by NEOM competitor Alex Michelsen.

If the lefty advances, he will play eighth seed Aslan Karatsev or Australian wild card Jason Kubler in the second round. Fourth seed Ugo Humbert lurks as a potential quarter-final opponent.

Second seed Grigor Dimitrov and former World No. 1 Andy Murray, who are also in Nadal’s half of the draw, will meet in a first-round blockbuster. Murray leads the pair's Lexus ATP Head2Head 8-4, but Dimitrov won their most recent clash at this year's US Open in straight sets.

Nadal played four matches in January and did not compete for the rest of the season due to a psoas muscle injury. The 37-year-old, who has spent 209 weeks atop the Pepperstone ATP Rankings in his career, will chase his 93rd tour-level title at the ATP 250.

It is the second time he will compete in Brisbane. Nadal played the tournament in 2017, when he reached the quarter-finals behind wins against Alexandr Dolgopolov and Mischa Zverev. He lost to then-World No. 3 Milos Raonic.

Brisbane top seed Holger Rune will open his season against aggressive Australian Max Purcell. Third seed Ben Shelton, who took the ATP Tour by storm in 2023, will launch his year against Wimbledon quarter-finalist Roman Safiullin.

Shelton’s countryman Sebastian Korda, the fifth seed, made a strong start to 2023 in Australia by making the Adelaide-1 final, earning a championship point against Novak Djokovic before falling short. The 23-year-old will try to start his new season quickly against German Yannick Hanfmann.