Rafael Nadal Makes Bold Claim About Australian Open

Rafael Nadal will feature at the Australian Open, without having played any official match to start his 2019 campaign. The Spaniard has played only one match, which was an exhibition in Abu Dhabi- which he lost. Having not played a single match, one would think that Rafael Nadal is not the favorite going into the first grand slam of the year.

However, Rafael Nadal believes that not only will he be fit for the Australian Open but will also be a strong contender for the title. “My hope is to win the Australian Open”, said Rafa. “That’s the hopes, always. The situation, I can’t tell you”, he continued. “We’ll see how the things improves. And being honest, I feel myself playing well. I feel myself playing at a good level of tennis. And I feel myself with very high motivation to compete and to play.”

Rafael Nadal has withdrawn or retired from 12 of his last 13 hard court tournaments! Despite this dismal record due to his injuries, Rafa is confident that he will be playing his best tennis at the Australian Open. “But I really believe that I will be 100 percent ready for Melbourne”, said the Spaniard. “Last year, in my opinion last year, my situation, my previous situation of the Melbourne tournament was much worse than last year. And I was in quarterfinal winning two sets to one to be in that semifinal. So I have experience. I have the knowledge of these things happens”, said Rafa.

“I showed myself that I can be playing very well without competing for a while”, said Nadal.  “And I’m going to work as hard as I can, and I’m going to play and practice with the highest tactical possible to be 100 percent ready for Melbourne. For me it’s a big goal to be ready for there and I’m going to fight for it”, he added. It comes as a surprise, that Rafa would be confident of playing at his best, despite the hard court problems he has faced in the recent times.

“I had a good off season, as I said before. And I am playing well, good tennis. I feel myself ready and always it’s tough when you have to go from a tournament, but especially if you feel yourself ready and playing well, and that was the case.”