Still stinging from his last painful appearance at Melbourne Park, Rafael Nadal is hopeful of returning as a genuine contender for a second Australian Open crown next month after recovering from appendix surgery.
The former world No.1 and 14-time grand slam champion only went under the knife last month but on Friday hailed the laparoscopic appendectomy a success and said he was now back in full training.
"The operation on my appendix was good. No problems at all," Nadal said in a teleconference from Spain.
"I'm happy to say today that I am able to practise a lot of hours every day, and with the right intensity, so that's the most important thing.
"And after five, six months, the main thing is to work hard and try to be ready for the beginning of the season."
Being struck down by appendicitis in October completed a season highlighted by his ninth French Open triumph but otherwise blighted by injury and illness.
A back injury cruelled Nadal's chances against Stanislas Wawrinka in the Australian Open final and he then hurt his wrist at Wimbledon, where he lost in the fourth round to Australian teenager Nick Kyrgios.
His last match was a straight-sets quarter-final loss to Croatian Borna Coric in Basel in October.
But his loss to Wawrinka - and being jeered by fans at Rod Laver Arena who thought the Spaniard may have been feigning injury to try to halt the Swiss's momentum - remains one of Nadal's biggest career disappointments.
"It was one of the hardest moments of my career," he said.
"I really suffered a lot during that match.
"I feel that Stan was playing at a high level but, for me, I didn't have the chance to compete during the final and that was always tough to accept after having a great tournament, after preparing myself for that for a long time.
"It was a little bit tough to accept mentally and especially on that court that I really love so much, Rod Laver Arena.
"I have been playing there for a lot of years and I spend very emotional moments, so that was a very emotional one.
"For me, it was hard, but that's part of tennis, that's part of our life, that's part of my career, too, that I was unlucky a few times in the Australian Open in my career."
The 2009 Open champion is confident that two lead-up tournaments in the Middle East will have him in decent enough shape to be a threat once again when the season's first major gets underway on January 19.
"It's not the first time for me that it's happened like this. (I'm) motivated to try to get back and strong again," Nadal said.
"The main thing for me is I am able to work hard in these next weeks."
Share
