‘I need to keep fighting’ – Rafael Nadal vows to improve ahead of Australian Open after back-to-back United Cup defeats

Rafael Nadal has lost back-to-back matches at the United Cup in Australia and has vowed to “keep fighting” ahead of the Australian Open in two weeks’ time.

Britain’s Cameron Norrie got the better of the 36-year-old with a 3-6 6-3 6-4 triumph, before Alex de Minaur also beat Nadal in three sets in front of a home crowd, winning 3-6 6-1 7-5.

Nadal is not worried about his pre-season form as he seeks to defend his Australian Open title in a fortnight, and has insisted he will “keep fighting” to “find rhythm”, following a spell with limited matches.

“I need battles like this, I didn’t play many official matches [in the] last six months, almost seven, so days like this still help, the process is faster but I need to keep fighting, that’s it,” Nadal explained. “For moments I played a very good level of tennis.

“I was able to play some good tennis but not consistently enough in the second set for me, break at the beginning in the second, chance to win almost every single game five-one, or even six-one, and I’ve lost six games in a row, so can’t happen.

“And then again, some good points in the third, some chances but some mistakes too. That’s it, I need to keep fighting, keep finding the rhythm.”

Nadal roared into life at the beginning of the 2022 season when he won the Australian Open for the second time, beating Daniil Medvedev 2–6 6–7 6–4 6–4 7–5 in Melbourne.

The world No. 2 will face a tougher test this season though, as Novak Djokovic returns following his deportation last year.

The Serbian has a better record down under with nine Australian Open titles.

He won four successive titles before he was deported for vaccination reasons ahead of the tournament in 2022, where Nadal took advantage of his absence to win his first Grand Slam in Melbourne since 2009.

The 22-time Grand Slam winner is not concerned about his form going into his title defence and suggested he needs “a bit more time” to prepare.

“I have two weeks before the Australian Open start,” he said. “I can’t say that the situation is ideal, but at the same time I can’t say that it’s very negative because for moments I was playing good and I think that two matches are going to help me.

“I need to win a couple of matches but the level was not that bad.

“Put into perspective that I arrived needing a bit more time.”

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