Nadal returns to tour with 3-set win over Sock in Washington

[ASFN Admin]

There were moments, to be sure, when Rafael Nadal played quite like someone competing for the first time in nearly two months. The highlight was a back-to-the-net, between-the-legs bit of magic in the first set that prompted Nadal to punch the air and prompted his fans to stand and roar. The court coverage on that effort, and when he smacked an on-the-run winner off a drop shot by Sock in the tiebreaker, at least, hid any apparent issues stemming from the foot injury Nadal recently revealed was part of why he sat out Wimbledon and the Tokyo Olympics and went three weeks without lifting a racket.

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