Nadal goes retro, begins with win

AUSTRALIAN OPEN World No. 1 dons sleeveless Tshirt, pink shorts, bands to revive mid2000s; routs Burgos

MELBOURNE: If Rafael Nadal gave the Australian Open a throwback feel last year with his straight-out-of-the-mid-2000s final against Roger Federer, he’s completed the retro effect this year with a return to his sartorial roots — a sleeveless T-shirt.

Matching the muscle-exposing tank top with neon pink shorts, wristbands and headband, Nadal also found his championship form again in a 6-1, 6-1, 6-1 rout of 37-year-old Victor Estrella Burgos in the first round at Melbourne Park.

The top-ranked Spaniard, who made a splash as a teenager with his trademark sleeveless shirts and knee-length pirate pants, came into this year’s Australian Open with questions about his health and readiness to compete following a taxing season that saw him capture two Grand Slams and return to No. 1.

Nadal had been forced to withdraw from the ATP Finals in November due to a lingering right knee injury, and when the pain persisted, he also pulled out of a season-opening exhibition event in Abu Dhabi and his first tournament in Brisbane.

With only a few exhibition matches last week to test his form, Nadal had doubts he’d be ready to go in time for the first major of the year. But a dominant performance against Estrella Burgos - he had 28 winners and saved five of six break points he faced - left him feeling positive about his start in Melbourne.

“If I don’t feel myself ready, I will not be here. So I am happy to be here, happy that I’m on court again,” he said.

Nadal, who wore no protective strapping on his knee, took his Australian Open record to 52-11. “It’s a positive start with a good result. If I do months without playing an official match, it’s always a little bit more difficult,” he said.

“But I started with positive feelings. That’s the most important thing for me now.

“Of course, there are things to improve. But the thing that I need to improve, the matches will give me those things. Victories are the most important thing now.”

It’s a positive start with a good result. If I go months without playing official match, it’s always a little bit more difficult RAFAEL NADAL, world No. 1