Nadal spoke ahead of his Friday fixture at the Mubadala World Tennis Championship in Abu Dhabi; 35-year-old has been suffering with a recurring left foot injury throughout 2021; Nadal has won 20 Grand Slam titles
Thursday 16 December 2021 13:37, UK
Rafael Nadal will head to the Australian Open with low expectations after his latest injury lay-off but still believes he can challenge for the biggest prizes in the sport.
The Spaniard will be back on court on Friday at the exhibition Mubadala World Tennis Championship in Abu Dhabi when he takes on either Andy Murray or Dan Evans.
It will be the first time Nadal has been seen in a match since a defeat to Lloyd Harris in Washington in early August, which was his first tournament since withdrawing from Wimbledon and the Olympics.
The 35-year-old has been battling a left foot problem and accepts he has a long road in front of him if he is to return to top form.
Speaking at a press conference in Abu Dhabi, Nadal said: "I am super happy to be back.
"Of course, I am feeling better, if not I will not be here. I know the comeback will be not easy. I don't have big expectations now.
"My only expectation is to be here, to play in front of a great crowd again, to feel myself competing again against great players, and then enjoy. It has been a very tough period of time for me, honestly, so just to be here is great news for me.
"I really hope the foot is going to get better and better to be again at the level that I want to be. If I am able to play with no limitations, I want to fight again for everything, so that's the goal.
"It's going to be super difficult for me. If things are going well, I'm only going to play one tournament before Australia and these two matches here so the amount of hours on court at the competitive level before such a tough and demanding tournament like Australia will be not much."
In Nadal's absence, Djokovic drew level with the Spaniard and Roger Federer at the peak of men's tennis with his 20th Grand Slam title at Wimbledon before narrowly missing out on a 21st in New York.
However, Djokovic's participation in Australia is still in doubt as he has declined to disclose his vaccination status, despite everyone at Melbourne Park needing to be inoculated against COVID-19
"Me and Roger have been injured for such a long period of time," Nadal said. "Of course we are equal, but the chances for Novak are much higher than for us."
The Australian Open begins at Melbourne Park on January 17.
