Tennis fans waited nearly a full year to watch Rafael Nadal compete in a professional singles match following his second-round exit at the 2023 Australian Open and his subsequent hip injury.

Nadal did not disappoint in his much-anticipated return as he defeated Dominic Thiem 7-5, 6-1 in the opening round at the Brisbane International on Tuesday.

Not even the longest layoff of his professional career could break Nadal, who went through a ton of emotions in 2023 and on Tuesday.

“Today is honestly an emotional and important day for me,” Nadal said, per the Associated Press. “And to play at the very positive level on the first day is something that probably makes [me] feel proud.

“It's been the longest period of time without being in a professional tournament since I started my tennis career, so, yeah, it's an amazing feeling to come back.”

Nadal flashed his vintage self at times during the match and dominated the second set after he settled in with a close win in the first set. He won all but six of his points on serve and never faced a break point against Thiem.

The 22-time Grand Slam winner said he was nervous to play again after his time away from tennis.

“You go on court and you have more nerves than usual because you [are] really at the end [of rehab and] hope that you're going to play at this level, but inside yourself you know that [it] can be a disaster and that, of course, worried me,” Nadal said.

Rafael Nadal will try to build some momentum as the first tennis major of the year approaches later this month. He'll face fellow wild card entrant Jason Kubler in the second round at Brisbane. The Australian Open starts on Jan. 14.