Andy Murray and Rafael Nadal exchanged kind words on social media on Saturday after the pair had been practising together ahead of the Brisbane International.
It comes as the Spaniard is set to make his long-awaited return to competitive action, after having been sidelined for the past year with a hip injury.
The 37-year-old made his last competitive appearance at the 2023 Australian Open where he was knocked out in the round of 64 by Mackenzie McDonald, with the 22-time major champion opting to undergo surgery to rectify the injury.
Nadal took to social media to announce he would be returning to the court earlier this December and will team up with Marc Lopez in the men’s doubles at the Brisbane International.
Today, he was pictured practising with Murray and thanked the former world No 1 on X (formerly Twitter) after their session.
Nadal wrote: ‘Thanks Andy Murray for a great practice today. All the best for the tournament my friend.’
Andy Murray took to the social media platform to respond, wishing the two-time Wimbledon Champion all the best for his comeback.
‘Thanks for the opportunity to be back on the court with you… Good luck with the comeback,’ the Scottish tennis star wrote, adding a ‘strong arm’ emoji to the end of his post.
Nadal had previously suggested that he could retire at the end of 2024, with speculation rising last year that this could be his final season on the tennis circuit.
But the Spaniard has been keen to not put a date on his retirment, telling his fans in a video released on social media:’I don’t want to announce it because in the end I don’t know what can happen and I have to give myself the opportunity not to say one thing as then I’ll be a slave to what I said.
‘I think it’s going to be like that but I can’t be 100 percent sure because in the end I’ve worked a lot to come back to compete and if suddenly things and my physique allow me to continue and enjoy what I do, why am I going to set a deadline?’
The two-time Australian Open winner has admitted though that he is excited to be back in action and claimed he was excited to start playing again.
‘I’m just happy to be back and with great excitement to make the effort that is necessary to have fun, and I believe that I will be competitive.’
Murray, meanwhile, is looking to bounce back from a difficult year that saw him crash out of Wimbledon and the US Open both at the second round.
The Brit has also suffered from hip injuries in the past but added, ahead of the Australian summer swing, that he was feeling ready to take on the best in the world.
‘I feel good enough to compete with the best players in the world, and I’ll keep playing until I feel like I can’t do that anymore,’ he said.
