Spanish ace Rafael Nadal has decided to skip the third place playoff at the Mubadala World Tennis Championship as a precaution ahead of his Australian Open campaign later this month.
The world No.2 returned to the court in Abu Dhabi on Friday, the first time he has played since injury forced him to retire from a US Open semifinal against Juan Martin del Potro on September 7.
Last month, the 32-year-old underwent surgery on his right ankle after dealing with knee and abdominal issues.
Nadal was beaten in the Mubadala semi-final by South Africa's Kevin Anderson 4-6 6-3 6-4.
But he has since decided to pull out of his third place match with Russian Karen Kachanov to concentrate on returning to form for the Melbourne grand slam, which begins on January 14.
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"I will not play. I will take a couple of days off ahead of the new season," Nadal told a press conference in Abu Dhabi.
"This tournament, it was a goal to be here. I am very happy to have been here."
"I cannot thank enough the tournament organisation for the understanding."
Anderson and Novak Djokovic will meet in the final on Saturday.
