After patchy performances at the Abu Dhabi exhibition, Rafael Nadal started the 2012 season proper in style, beating Philipp Kohlschreiber in Doha, 6-3, 6-7 (2), 6-3.
Nadal’s recent public statements have not dripped with confidence, and his appearance wasn’t helped by a wheeled racquet bag that looked like a suitcase—presumably to spare his troublesome shoulder, it gave the impression he already had his bags packed. He could not, however, have asked for a better first opponent than Kohlschreiber, who lost all seven of their previous meetings but never failed to test the Spaniard on hard courts, taking a set every time they have played on that surface.
He also could not have asked to play a better first set, breaking in the third game and tearing through the German in 33 minutes. Whether it was the recent switch to a heavier racquet frame or not, Nadal had no problem hitting through the court in chilly, blustery conditions, striking 13 winners to nine unforced errors.
Perhaps the straightforward nature of the first set left Nadal caught off-guard when Kohlschreiber picked up his game early in the second, or it could have been the German’s return which skidded off the line and gave him the break for 2-0. Hawkeye showed the ball to have been out, but Nadal had not stopped play to challenge and lost the point and game regardless. Momentarily rattled, the top seed was rocked back on his heels by Kohlschreiber’s newfound commitment to taking the ball early and getting forward in the court, finding himself spending almost all of the second set well behind the baseline. Nadal started getting the ball down low to Kohlschreiber’s feet whenever the German was a touch slow to get into the net, helping him to break back, but when the tiebreak was reached it was Kohlschreiber who lifted his game, punishing Nadal for a less-than-stellar volley to get the initial and decisive minibreak.
Riding high on the 20 winners he hit in the second set, Kohlschreiber broke Nadal immediately with a running forehand pass when the top seed’s serve-and-volley wasn’t quite sharp enough. It was a last gasp, however, as Nadal settled down, rediscovered the big hitting of the first set and refused to retreat back behind the baseline, breaking twice for a 3-1 lead. It was the start of a steady march to a victory that never looked out of reach, despite spells of misfiring on the forehand and an ineffective slice backhand. Perhaps the most encouraging statistic, given Nadal’s recent shoulder problems, was the seven aces he hit and a service percentage that never dipped below 70.
With the prospect of what should be an easier match against another German, Denis Gremelmayr, to look forward to, Nadal should be very satisfied with a battling beginning to the 2012 season.
—Hannah Wilks