Majorcan tennis ace, Rafa Nadal has kicked of 2021 with a victory against Austrian Dominic Thiem winning by 7-5, 6-4 in an exhibition match for charity at the Memorial Drive Tennis Club in Adelaide, Australia.
The city had completed a pre-Cup quarantine and the stands were chock full of people who were not wearing masks or social distancing.
"What a pleasure it is to play in front of the public again.” said Rafa.
A year ago Thiem beat Nadal in the quarterfinals of the 2020 Australian Open, but lost the final to Serbian Novak Djokovic, shunting Nadal off the world number one spot.
Next up for Rafa is the ATP Cup from February 2 to 6, followed by the Australian Open from 8 to 21.