After his second defeat in as many games played, Rafael Nadal does not start his season in the best way. But the Mallorcan remains positive as the Australian Open approaches.
Rafael Nadal says losing two matches in a row is not the ideal preparation to start defending his Australian Open title. Nevertheless, the world number two thinks there is no cause for alarm ahead of the first Grand Slam of the season which begins in two weeks.
After an injury-plagued 2022, Nadal lost his opening match of the United Cup mixed team event to Briton Cameron Norrie last week and then fell to Australian Alex de Minaur, who won in three sets (3-6 6-1 7-5). “Almost six hours on the court. I need to spend time on the courts. I need battles like this Nadal told reporters. “I haven’t played many official matches in the last six months, almost seven. Days like these help.»
«Of course, with wins, the process is faster, but I have to keep fighting. For a while I played a good level of tennis, used my backhand well. Change direction with the forehand.he added after his defeat. Nadal said he felt good physically but needed to improve his speed and be more dynamic on the pitch to improve his confidence ahead of the Melbourne Park major: I have two weeks until the start of the Australian Open. I can’t say the situation is ideal, but at the same time I can’t say it’s negative, because for a while I played well.»
