Brisbane, Australia, January 5 (PL) - Spanish tennis player Rafa Nadal continued his idyllic return to the courts after a year injured, advancing to the quarterfinals of the Open tournament in this city.

Nadal overwhelmed host Jason Kubler on Thursday with an easy 6-1, 6-2 win in just one hour and 23 minutes of play.

For his next outing, the Mallorcan will have another Australian, Jordan Thompson, who advanced automatically after Frenchman Ugo Humbert, the fourth seed, withdrew due to illness.

The winner of 22 major events was invited to Brisbane after falling down the world rankings while recovering from hip surgery, and made his successful debut last Tuesday against 2020 U.S. Open champion Dominic Thiem of Austria.

The Iberian's sights are set on the first Grand Slam of the season, the Australian Open, in what could be his last foray into this event, as he announced that 2024 will mark his definitive farewell to tennis.