Rafael Nadal says his return to competitive tennis is a "work in progress" after winning doubles match at the Melbourne Summer Set 2022

20-time Major winner Rafael Nadal emerged triumphant in his first competitive match in nearly six months on Tuesday. Partnering countryman Jaume Munar in the men's doubles event at Melbourne Summer Set 2022, Nadal put up a solid display as the Spanish duo ousted Argentina's Sebastian Baez and Tomas Martin Etcheverry in three sets.

Nadal had been out of commission since last year's Citi Open in August due to a foot injury that flared up during his Roland Garros campaign. The injury also kept the Spaniard from participating at Wimbledon and the Tokyo Olympics. The 13-time French Open champion subsequently called off his season just before the 2021 US Open.

Nadal seems to be slowly finding his way back on the circuit. The Spaniard was content with his doubles performance in Melbourne on Tuesday, going by an Instagram story he uploaded shortly after his team's victory.

"First match after a long time. Work in progress," Rafael Nadal wrote in his Instagram story.

A screen-capture of Rafael Nadal's Instagram story following his doubles win in Melbourne

Nadal and Jaume Munar played in front of a packed crowd on Court 13 at Melbourne Park, and brought some much-needed joy to the fans with their gritty tennis. After splitting the first two sets 6-3, the Spanish duo eked out a winner-takes-all super tiebreaker with a score of 10-4.

Twitter reacts to Rafael Nadal's return to competitive tennis

Rafael Nadal's fans were clearly overjoyed by their idol's return to tennis and took to Twitter to upload the videos they shot of the Spaniard during the match. A fan named Linda made sure she kept close track of how Nadal was feeling physically.

Another fan named Erlita, who was also courtside for the Spaniard's doubles outing, served up plenty of content on her Twitter handle.

Following the win, Nadal made apologetic gestures to his most ardent supporters, as he couldn't sign autographs. This was due to Tennis Australia putting social distancing measures in place amidst a COVID-19 surge in the state of Victoria.

Nadal and Jaume Munar will next face fourth seeds Andrey Golubev and Franko Skugor for a place in the quarterfinals of the Melbourne Summer Set. Nadal will also likely begin his singles campaign at the ATP 250 event on Thursday, against either Marcos Giron or Ricardas Berankis.

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