Rafael Nadal 'happy to start with a win' at home tournament Barcelona Open on comeback

Rafael Nadal looked good in a comfortable 6-2, 6-3 win over Flavio Cobolli at the Barcelona Open in his first competitive match in more than three months on Tuesday.

The victory at the centre court named after him allowed Nadal to advance to the second round at the clay-court tournament that the Spaniard has won a record 12 times. He will next face Alex de Minaur, who had a first-round bye.

Speaking at the post-match presentation, Nadal shed light on his emotions on coming back, ' To come back here in Barcelona after I couldn't do it for a while means a lot to me. I enjoyed the match today with this fantastic crowd and to live once again the feeling of playing on a court that has been so important in my career. It's been a very good feeling and I tried to enjoy every moment.'

Nadal converted on his second match point to seal the victory over the 21-year-old Italian ranked 62nd in the world.

Nadal was returning from yet another injury layoff and hadn't played since an exhibition match against Carlos Alcaraz in March. The 22-time Grand Slam champion had last played a tournament in Brisbane in January, when he played only three matches before skipping the Australian Open.

When asked about his resilience to keep on returning from long injury layoffs, the 37-year-old stated, 'Yes, I tried a lot of times in my career. It's true that, every time is more difficult. And especially when you are in advanced age, it makes the things, even tougher now. But, yes, I am going through tough moments. But at the same time, when I am able to, to be on the tour for a few days and practice with the guys and then be able to compete a little bit means a lot to me. And I still, enough, enjoyable to keep doing.'

Nadal said it will likely be his last time playing the Barcelona Open. The 37-year-old Spaniard had hip surgery last summer and said 2024 will probably be his last year playing on tour.