Rafael Nadal claims to be in “good shape” for Australian Open

• Nadal has dropped six of his last seven singles matches.
• He hasn’t appeared to be fully recovered since an abdominal injury.
• Nadal will play Hubert Hurkacz in a warm-up match on Rod Laver Arena.

Rafael Nadal, a tennis great from Spain, has stated that he is in “good shape” for his title defence at the Australian Open.

Nadal has dropped six of his last seven singles matches. At the Nitto ATP Finals, he defeated Casper Ruud in a tiebreaker to earn his lone victory.

He hasn’t appeared to be fully recovered since pulling out of the Wimbledon semifinals due to an abdominal injury and losing in the fourth round of the US Open last summer.

After losing in the United Cup to Alex de Minaur and Cameron Norrie, he is 0-2 in 2023.

But Nadal is fired up in Melbourne and aiming for a record-extending 23rd Grand Slam title.

“It’s true that I wasn’t able to play to my standards in the last couple of tournaments, and here at the start of the season I lost two matches in Sydney, but honestly, I am not unhappy with the preparation,” Nadal said.

“I believe I am in good shape. You must demonstrate this in matches… But I’m confident that if I can have one more week of good practise, why not?”

On Thursday, Nadal will play world No. 11 Hubert Hurkacz in a warm-up match on Rod Laver Arena before Novak Djokovic and Nick Kyrgios play a charity match on the same court.

Nadal defeated Daniil Medvedev in an exciting comeback victory in the Australian Open final the year before.

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