Rafael Nadal looked forward to Novak Djokovic’s return to the Australian Open and said it was “good for tennis”, as per AFP.
Djokovic did not take part in the tournament in 2022 after he was deported for refusing to get vaccinated for COVID.
Nadal won the competition.
Nadal has won a record men’s 22 Grand Slam titles while Djokovic has 21 to his name.
Nadal said he was happy to see his superstar rival back.
AFP
“Novak is here, good for tennis, good for probably the fans. Let’s see, no? Best players on the court always win,” he said.
Djokovic is aiming for what will be his 10th Australian Open title.
Nadal also won his 14th French Open in 2022 but injury saw him pull out of the Wimbledon semis.
“The highest motivation to try to start well. It’s always important to start well for me, for the confidence,” he added.
AFP
“The last few months haven’t been easy for me. The main thing for me now is to recover the positive feelings on the court and being competitive. I hope to. I am ready to make that happen, but let’s see,” he went on to say.
Nadal played his first Australian Open in 2004.
“As a professional, you never know, hopefully not,” he continued upon being asked if this was his last Australian Open.
Click Here: canberra raiders jerseys
“I mean, when you are at the age of 36, you never know when it’s going to be the last one. It’s obvious, but I don’t like to talk about that because I am not in that mood now. I’m just focused on trying to play at the highest level possible and give myself the possibilities to keep being competitive and to fight for anything. That’s my goal now. I’m not thinking about it being my last time here. I am happy doing what I am doing. I’m looking forward to keeping doing this,” he opined.
The Australian Open starts on January 16 and ends on January 29.