Rafael Nadal finds plenty of positives after comeback match ends in defeat to Andy Murray

Rafael Nadal's highly-anticipated return to action ended in defeat at the Mubadala World Tennis Championship on Friday as Andy Murray advanced to face Andrey Rublev in the final.

Nadal, the defending and record five-time MWTC champion, was playing his first match since ending his 2021 season in August due to a long-term foot problem.

Unsurprisingly, the Spaniard was lacking in match sharpness as Murray, who defeated fellow Briton Dan Evans in the quarter-finals on Thursday, recorded a 6-3, 7-5 victory at Zayed Sports City's International Tennis Centre.

There was still plenty for the Nadal-heavy crowd to cheer, and each time he delivered his trademark one-two punch of a line-grabbing serve followed by a whipping forehand winner, it was met with huge roars.

Murray may also be working his way back from serious injury but the three-time major winner is much further along in his progress, having ended the 2021 season with several back-to-back tournaments, and that gulf in additional match fitness was telling.

There was one break in each set, Murray striking in the sixth game of the first and in the 11th game of the second on his way to victory.

For Nadal, this was simply the next step on his long road to recovery and he will take another when he faces Canadian world No 14 Denis Shapovalov in the third-place playoff on Saturday.

"It was a good comeback in my opinion," Nadal said. "Of course, it's been a long period of time without playing – I’ve only played one match and a half since Roland Garros, and I’m not playing against an easy opponent to start, so it’s difficult.

"I think I did a lot of things well, a lot of things after a long period of time I need to recover; some things when you are in a competition that come automatically, now I have to think more or you don’t have that extra time to choose the right decision. But in general, a positive match."

Their match in Abu Dhabi was the first time Nadal and Murray had shared a court in more than five years, dating back to the 2016 Madrid Masters, which provides an indication of their respective injury issues in recent times. Nadal said he is happy to see Murray back playing well, although he was much more focused on himself, considering the circumstances.

"Honestly, I was not even thinking about tactics or if anything surprised me on court," the Spaniard said. "I was only thinking about my things, the way I want to play.

"As I said yesterday, I didn't come here with big expectations for results. The focus is being on the court, enjoying, trying to play some good tennis, and feel my way back again.

"I see [Murray] playing very well but I couldn’t say if anything surprised me because I know how good is Andy. He is one of the best players I ever saw."

It was another encouraging performance by Murray, who made it plainly clear on the eve of MWTC that he is leaving "no stone unturned" next season in his attempts to return to the top of the game.

"I played a solid match and served well, so I didn’t give him too many opportunities. But it was probably a combination of me playing solid and dictating a lot of the points and him hardly playing for the last five or six months," Murray said. "I know how that feels. I’ve gone almost a year without competing and its hard, and it doesn’t get easier when you’re older.

Looking ahead to the final, Murray said: "Tomorrow will also be important because Rublev is one of the top few players in the world who attacks, so I need to be solid in defence."

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