Rafa Nadal admitted that his current two consecutive losses weren’t the perfect warmup for his upcoming Australian Open title protection, nevertheless, the world’s second-ranked participant stays unperturbed and assured in his potential to make a triumphant displaying on the season’s first main event in two weeks’ time.
Following an injury-ravaged 2022, Nadal misplaced his United Cup blended group occasion opener to Briton Cameron Norrie final week and Spain’s 22-times Grand Slam champion then fell to Australian Alex de Minaur, who claimed a 3-6 6-1 7-5 win on Monday.
But Nadal, who wanted pain-numbing injections on his foot en path to the French Open title and pulled out of his Wimbledon semifinal with an stomach damage final yr, mentioned there have been nonetheless positives regardless of his shaky begin to the brand new season.
“Six hours on court almost. I need hours on court. I need battles like this,” Nadal informed reporters. “I did not play a lot official matches the final six months, virtually seven. Days like these two assist.
“Of course with victories the process is faster, but I need to keep fighting. That’s it. For moments, I played a good level of tennis. Playing good with the backhand. Changing directions with the forehand.”
Nadal mentioned he felt tremendous bodily however wanted to enhance his pace and be extra dynamic on the court docket to enhance his confidence forward of the Melbourne Park main.
“I have two weeks before the Australian Open starts. I can’t say the situation is ideal but at the same time I can’t say it’s negative, because for moments I was playing good,” Nadal mentioned.
“I feel that two matches goes to assist me. I have to win a few matches. But the extent wasn’t that unhealthy. Putting in perspective that I arrived needing a little bit bit extra time.
“I’m not too alarmed, too negative about what happened. I think it was a real chance to lose these kinds of matches. Last year I lost two matches in Abu Dhabi, and that’s it.”
