So far so good. Rafael Nadal is safely through to the second round of Australian Open 2019 and no bits appear to have dropped off. For a man who spent large parts of last season on the sick list, that is a good sign.
The dodgy leg that kept him out of the Brisbane International seems to be behaving itself, the ankle that required surgery at the end of last year appears as good as gold, and his knees are both bending in the right direction. So far so good, then.
His 6-4, 6-3, 7-5 win over an inspired James Duckworth was a good enough start to Nadal’s campaign, he thought, and given that it was his first match – and first match win – since last September, he was pleased with his day’s work. Come to think of it, he was just pleased to be able to complete a day’s work, win or lose.
MORE: Nadal opens account against plucky Duckworth
“Is normal that beginnings are tough, but every day helps and every day makes me feel better, makes me feel more confident,” he said, looking very jolly. “So that's an important victory because is the first victory since a while, and at the same time, because that gives me the chance to be on court again. And that's what I need today.”
It was also an opportunity to try out the new, revamped serve that Rafa has brought with him to Australia. The reason for the change in the action is simply a case of wanting to improve rather than any underlying gammy joint that needs to be protected.
And, all things considered, the shot did exactly what he hoped it would: six aces, 67 per cent accuracy on the first delivery with a 74 per cent success rate in winning the point, a 59 per cent success rate on the second serve and only two breaks of the Nadal serve. And the second break was entirely due to Duckworth’s all-out aggression rather than the serve’s failings. Not a bad result, then, for a man tiptoeing back from a four-month injury break.
“Today he went on court with the determination to don't play tennis the way that I understand tennis,” Rafa explained.
Then, realising that something may have been lost in translation, he made his point very clear: Duckworth had played very well. Aggressive and well.
“Is not a negative point, not at all, believe me,” Rafa went on. “He went on court probably doing a thing that works well for him, and he gives him some chances. And he played smart and he played well.
“When you play against a player that he wants to hit all the shots, of course you can have breaks against, because you are sometimes in his hands.
“But anyway, my serve worked well, a lot of good positions after the first serve. I felt solid with the second. And in general terms I am happy about the victory of today against, as I said before, a very difficult opponent to play.”
Rafa knows as well as anyone that the real tests will come further down the line, provided his game and his body hold up long enough to get there. With, potentially, Alex De Minaur waiting for him in the third round, Kevin Anderson in the quarter-finals and Roger Federer in the semi-finals, the path ahead is littered with huge obstacles.
The other, more dangerous, obstacle for the rest of the year is the rise and rise of the new lads on the block. For the past 14 years, the Big Four have been repelling wave after wave of young talents who have threatened their position at the top of the game.
Now one of those four – Andy Murray – is being forced into early retirement through injury while Rafa works day and daily to hold body and soul together to give himself another shot at a major title. He knows that the time is coming when he will have to hand over the reins to the new generation but he is determined to put the moment off for as long as possible.
“Everybody wants to win, that’s the real thing,” he said. “Even if they are the new generation, the old generation, the middle generation – everybody wants to win and that makes the sport very competitive.
“We have been here for such a very long time, now is coming the young generation, they are playing so well and they will be the future champions on this sport. Hopefully not yet. I think they have a lot of time to go, they can wait one more year!”
If Rafa can stay fit, the new boys may have to wait a little longer than that – but that could be a big “if”. Still, on the evidence of the first round, the signs are promising. So far so good.