"I really believe I played a great two weeks of tennis, there's a good energy and good inspiration for what is coming."
Sunday 27 January 2019 13:40, UK
Rafael Nadal cited the five months he spent away from the match court for his heavy defeat to Novak Djokovic in the Australian Open final.
Nadal underwent ankle surgery to remove a loose intra-articular body which forced him to miss the back-end of the 2018 season.
He only resumed training in December but pulled out of the Brisbane International with a left-thigh strain at the beginning of the year.
There were doubts as to whether the Spaniard would be fit in time for Melbourne, but he played an outstanding level of tennis at the tournament without dropping a set until he was blitzed by Djokovic's booming groundstrokes and precision serve, winning only seven games en route to a crushing 6-3 6-2 6-3 defeat.
Nadal blamed his lack of physical resilience for his display in the final, although he admitted Djokovic played an incredible match.
"It was unbelievable the way that he played, no doubt about that. I played fantastic tennis during both weeks, but probably playing that well, I didn't suffer much during both weeks," said world No 2 Nadal.
"Five months without competing, having that big challenge in front of me, I needed something else. That something else probably today, I don't have it yet, to compete at this super-high level.
"I really believe I played a great two weeks of tennis, there's a good energy and good inspiration for what is coming."
Nadal said he requires more playing time to reach a sufficient level to challenge Djokovic at his imperious best, but vowed there is more to come.
I have my age. I have my calendar. I have my priorities.
"The only thing probably that I need is time and more matches," he said. "I need work, and I need more weeks like this one. That's really the only thing that I hope - to have the chance to keep practising well and to have the chance to keep playing and stay healthy.
"I need matches, but I can't go crazy to play matches. I have my age. I have my calendar. I have my priorities. My priority now is come back home, have some rest."
We have the tennis season covered from all angles via our website skysports.com/tennis. On the move? Head to our app for mobile devices and iPad, or follow our Twitter account @SkySportsTennis to join in the conversation.
