(AAP) – Rafael Nadal appears to have passed his Australian Open fitness test with flying colours despite losing his practice match at the Kooyong Classic.
The world No.1 fell to Richard Gasquet 6-4 7-5 in their exhibition match in Melbourne on Tuesday but, more importantly, Rafa looked to be moving freely on his troublesome knee.
It was a good test for me and good practice.
I’m good and I am here so that’s good news and my idea is just to keep practicing the next couple of days to be ready for the beginning of the Australian Open.
It was a long year last year so I started my preparation a little bit later than usual. It’s good to start having the feelings of playing a match even if it’s not official.
It was Rafa’s first match in almost three months and first since withdrawing from the ATP Tour Finals in mid-November after an opening three-set loss to David Goffin.
He downplayed any concerns about his knee, saying:
If I’m not feeling good, probably I will not be here. So that’s the good news.
Rafa looked rusty with some erratic forehands but it was a big step forward as he targets a second Australian Open title. He trailed Gasquet 3-0 in the second set after going down a double break but clawed his way back to lead 5-4 only to lose his serve again.
Source: AAP
Tie Break Tens scores:
QF
Hewitt 10-6 Djokovic
Nadal 10-1 Pouille
Berdych 10-8 Kyrgios
Raonic 10-7 Thiem
SemiFinals
Nadal 13-11 Hewitt
Berdych 11-9 Raonic
Final
Berdych 10-5 Nadal
The good news is that Rafa’s performances “will have done no harm in building up his confidence for the Australian Open and that Nadal has “sent out a message to his rivals that he’s fit and firing for the Australian Open.”
Needless to say, “the deep position Rafa adopted during his match vs Berdych allowed the Czech to force him wide, unable to recover across the court in time due to the speed of the surface. Probably not a tactic to employ against the biggest servers when the first Grand Slam of the year rolls around.”
[All quotes from Metro Sport]
RAFA IS ROCKING
Yes, Rafa made it to the final but Berdych beat him. TieBreakTens sure looked like loads of fun.
RAFA ROCKS
Rafa was all dimples, smiles and excitement after beating Lleyton [13-11] at TB Tens. He was so excited he could barely speak. He said he expected a tough time against Hewitt, one of the greatest competitors.
RAFA ROCKS
Rafa beats Lleyton 13-11.
RAFA ROCKS
At the TB Tens, Rafa had the crowd crazy wild with excitement when he ran from one end of the court to the other end to make an unbelievable passing shot against Lleyton.