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Rafael Nadal is all set to make his return to singles tennis on Thursday when he faces World No. 104 Ricardas Berankis in the pre-quarterfinals of Melbourne Summer Set 2022. It will be the 20-time Grand Slam champion's first singles match since the Citi Open in August.
It is pertinent to note that Nadal did take the court on Tuesday for a doubles match at this Australian Open warmup event. The Spaniard showed no signs of discomfort as he and compatriot Jaume Munar defeated Argentina's Sebastian Baez and Tomas Martin Etcheverry 6-3, 3-6, [10-4].
Ahead of the start of the new season, Nadal did play a couple of exhibition matches in singles to find his range. Those were against Andy Murray and Denis Shapovalov at the Mubadala World Tennis Championship in Abu Dhabi last month, both of which he lost.
Where is Rafael Nadal playing?
Rafael Nadal is currently competing at the Melbourne Summer Set, where he's the top seed. The men's singles event at Melbourne Summer Set 2022 has a field of 28 ATP players and a total prize money of $521,000. The event was introduced to the ATP calendar after the COVID-19 situation in Australia forced this year's Brisbane International to be canceled.
Who is Rafael Nadal playing against?
Rafael Nadal's first opponent at this tournament is Lithuania's Ricardas Berankis, a player he has never faced before.
Berankis got the better of USA's Marcos Giron 7-5, 6-4 in the first round. The former World No. 50 has reached two ATP finals, at the Los Angeles Open in 2012 and the Kremlin Cup in 2017.
This match could prove to be a tricky opener for Rafael Nadal since he is likely to be rusty. The Spaniard last played a competitive singles match in August and might be in for a scrappy outing against the seasoned Berankis.
Rafael Nadal vs Ricardas Berankis match schedule
Rafael Nadal's match is third on the schedule for the Rod Laver Arena after an 11 am local time start. The match is likely to begin around 2 pm local time.
Here are the broadcast timings of Rafael Nadal's match for fans in the USA, UK, Canada and India.
USA: Approx. 10:00 pm ET, January 5, 2022
UK: Approx. 3:00 am GMT, January 6, 2022
Canada: Approx. 10:00 pm ET, January 5, 2022
India: Approx 8:30 am IST, January 6, 2022
Rafael Nadal vs Ricardas Berankis streaming details
Viewers from the following countries can catch all the action live on the respective channels and sites:
USA: For viewers in the USA, Tennis Channel will broadcast all the matches.
UK: UK viewers can follow the action on Amazon Prime.
Canada: Fans in Canada can watch the matches on TSN.
Also Check Out: Updated Tennis Schedule 2022
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