Rafael Nadal has returned to tennis, 8 months after he got the injury that has kept him out of the game for so long.

Nadal has struggled with knee injuries for his whole career, exacerbated by his intense style of play. Often described as tendonitis, Nadal’s problems have never been fully sorted and he fears he may have to play through the pain for the remainder of his career.

With this latest injury coming to a close, Nadal also contracted a stomach virus, which slowed his recovery and had many bemoaning his bad luck.

He now appears to be on the road to recovery, he has played tennis again and crucially, won. He and his doubles partner, Juan Monaco, beat Frantisek Cermak and Lukas Dlouhy in straight sets 6-3 6-2.

Nadal revealed in an interview after the game that he was in pain during the match, but he as been told by doctors that he is not at risk of aggravating the injury further.

In the time he has been out, Nadal has slipped down to 5th in the world, despite being considered firmly in the elite group of four that is Djokovic, Federer, Murray and himself. He will hope that a swift return to tennis action will see him climb up the ATP rankings once again.

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