BY RIZWAN REHMAT
DOHA: For world number three Rafael Nadal, preparations for the season’s first Grand Slam in Australia begin in Doha this week.
Nadal launches the 2015 ATP Tour season at the $1.2m Qatar ExxonMobil Open, an event he won exactly 12 months ago.
The 28-year-old played little tennis after Wimbledon last year and eventually missed the American hard-court season in August and September due to injuries and health concerns.
After regaining fitness, Nadal appeared at an exhibition series in Abu Dhabi that ended on Saturday.
“For me, as many matches as I can play,” Nadal said when asked if Qatar results mattered in his build-up to the Australian Open.
“Every match (I play) means a lot and (playing in Doha) will be very important,” Nadal added.
“If I’m able to win (a) couple of matches, (it) will be fantastic for me. And then a week of practice before Australia can help me,” Nadal said.
“But if not, I am ready to accept everything, to accept that I need time and I need to play with my best attitude possible to be competitive,” the second seed said.
“In general I think I am not that bad. I hope to be competitive soon,” Nadal warned.
“With hard work every day, (I will) try to improve a little bit every day to find the rhythm, to find the way that you really want to play,” Nadal said in his pre-event press conference yesterday.
Nadal, who has won more than $71m in career prize money, said his goal for 2015 is to regain top form.
“My goal is try to be competitive in every tournament that I play,” Nadal said.
“But I need small period of time. As I said before, it’s difficult to be back playing against the best players; to compete well from beginning is something that almost never happened,” he explained.
“So I will try to make it as quick as possible, but it’s normal that I’m going to need some time. But I’m happy I’m practicing well and working very hard. I’m doing the right things with the right attitude.
“I hope to be ready to compete here (in Doha), and then if I am able to spend some time on court, every moment on court will help me. (It) will be positive for my future, and for sure I will try to play the best tournament possible,” the popular Spaniard said.
For Nadal, it is important how the opponent feels about the 14-time Grand Slam champion during a match.
“Doesn’t matter what I am feeling, no? What the opponents feels (is important),” Nadal explained.
“At the end, I can feel myself competitive, but if the opponents feels that I’m not competitive and they beat me, (they will feel) I’m not ready yet.
“So we will see. Every match will be a test for me. Every moment will help, as I said before. I have the mental spirit (that) I always had. So now I need to recover the tennis, I need to recover the movements. All these kind of things that only the competition can give, you know.
“I think I’m ready mentally to work for it, and I am doing (it). And seriously I think the work I did in Majorca was important. The work I am doing here will be important for the future, too. I happy how I am.
“I play doubles tomorrow. Every moment that I spend on court will be important, and then singles on Tuesday. We will see,” he conclued. Nadal opens his Qatar ExxonMobil Open campaign with a clash against a qualifier.THE PENINSULA
