Nadal and tennis return ... before 4,000 people

Boomerang in hand,

wore teeth and a smile after beating Dominic Thiem (7-5 ​​and 6-4) in the

held in Adelaide which meant, after all, the return of him and the racket in 2021 that also seems complicated.

The Mallorcan won, both he and his opponent competing at half throttle, releasing legs and arms, but one element stood out in the script of an afternoon against the current in these strange times of silence and cement in sports.

Nadal won with cheers, he and the rest of the participants of the exhibition surrounded by the heat of a crowd of about 4,000 people stationed in the stands, without masks or social distance.

That is to say, today it is news, almost science fiction, which was normal before.

• "In quarantine, you have very ugly times, but you don't have to dramatize"

• The Australian Open, or a powder keg close to exploding

"I hope that all this ends as soon as possible and we can enjoy with the fans as soon as possible," wished the Balearic, happy after having overcome the two-week quarantine imposed by the authorities - with the exception of leaving to train - and understanding with the zealous procedure that the country is applying, where mobility has been drastically reduced and has practically sealed its borders.

“A 14-day quarantine is not ideal, but it is what we must do now.

I think Australia is an example of how to do things and I can only congratulate them.

I really missed playing on a track with so many people ”, continued number two, who at 34 is facing a momentous year in his career.

With 20 grand in his pocket, the same figure as Roger Federer, the Spanish will try to take advantage of the Swiss's absence from the Open that starts on the 8th (to the 21st) to break the tie and top the list of

for the first time.

Nadal has, therefore, an extraordinary opportunity in Australia, from where scenes that go back to the old days of sport arrive, a country now envied.

On the south coast, where Adelaide and Melbourne are located, restrictions have been lifted and it is not mandatory to wear a mask due to the low number of infections detected: less than 29,000 cases since March 2020 and a cumulative incidence of six in the last week .

909 deceased since then.

For this reason, in Adelaide it was possible to see an overflowing court and some revived tennis players.

Little or nothing to do with the scenes in New York and Roland Garros last year;

not a single spectator could attend the US Open and in Paris, the 1,000 admitted spectators barely adorned the bleak autumn scenery, extremely cold.

In Melbourne for the next two weeks, happiness will still be incomplete, but certainly much closer to normal.

The Australian federation (Tennis Australia) finally decided to have a capacity of 50%, so the courts will regain some spark and the development of the matches will be more similar to the usual.

For two weeks, the tennis will regain some light.

“We haven't played in front of so many people for almost twelve months.

Thank you for coming and making the day and the year happy ”, celebrated Novak Djokovic, who only had blisters allowed him to play one set against Yannik Sinner.

"This is really great," added Serena Williams, who was measured with the Japanese Naomi Osaka ("It has become eternal!") While Simona Halep did it with the number one, local Ashleigh Barty.

While all this was happening, the confinement demanded by the authorities (and a handful of protests with little foundation) was already behind and the tennis players, both in Adelaide and Melbourne, were gradually leaving their hotels to line up a couple of filming events before of the big day.

Tennis is celebrating.