World No.2 Rafael Nadal has insisted that he is not in ‘terrible shape’ as he races against time to be ready for the Australian Open.
The 20-time Grand Slam champion has suffered a setback ahead of the Grand Slam after being forced to withdraw from his opening tie at the ATP Cup earlier this week due to a back issue. Nadal is currently undergoing daily treatment for what he describes as a ‘stiff back.’ The Spaniard was expected to return to the court on Thursday before all matches at Melbourne Park was suspended for 24 hours following a positive COVID-19 test in the area.
Shedding some light on his current fitness during an interview with Vamos de Movistar, the world No.2 is confident that his condition will improve over the coming days. At the Australian Open Nadal is bidding to win the tournament for only the second time in his career and first since 2009. He has also reached the final in Melbourne on four other occasions.
“I’m not in a terrible shape, but I’m not well enough to play. At the end of one of the practice sessions I felt it was getting stiff. I’m having daily treatment and trust things will improve in the next few days,” Nadal said on Wednesday.
“I think I’m a bit better now, but I’m not yet ready to play a match at the highest intensity ’cause I’m not at my 100% and we need to see how things evolve day by day.”
Despite the absence of their top player in the team competition, Spain still managed to record a 3-0 win over hosts Australia on Tuesday. Pablo Carreno Busta, Roberto Bautista Agut and Marcel Granollers were the players who managed to secure the one-sided victory. As for Nadal it is expected that he will play in the event at some stage with his main focus being next week.
“The first objective right now is to try to recover as well as possible. I think I have had a good preseason and I started this season with maximum enthusiasm, I trained well in Mallorca and Adelaide,” Nadal explained.
There is also a chance that the 34-year-old could create more history over the coming weeks should he triumph at the Melbourne major. One more Grand Slam title would enable him to overtake rival Roger Federer to become the most decorated major winner in the history of men’s tennis.
Despite the chance of achieving such a milestone, Nadal is eager to play down the hype.
“I don’t know if the 21 will come,” he admits.
“The only thing I can do is continue doing everything I have done in recent years: fight every day to be better and when I compete continue generating opportunities to get the best possible results. The reality is that I have never lived obsessed by the Grand Slams.”
Nadal has won 86 ATP titles so far in his career.
