{"id":262433,"date":"2023-01-10T06:20:47","date_gmt":"2023-01-10T07:20:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/?p=262433"},"modified":"2023-01-10T07:57:22","modified_gmt":"2023-01-10T07:57:22","slug":"defiant-nadal-bats-away-fresh-form-concerns","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/?p=262433","title":{"rendered":"Defiant Nadal bats away fresh form concerns"},"content":{"rendered":"

Rafael Nadal<\/a> believes he is "in good shape" leading into next week's Australian Open<\/a>, despite his 2023 season getting off to a sluggish start. \ufeff<\/p>\n

Nadal lost both of his singles matches at the United Cup<\/a>, including \ufeffan upset defeat to hometown hero Alex de Minaur.<\/p>\n

Following the \ufeff22-time grand slam champion's second straight loss, concerns began to be raised over his fitness.<\/p>\n

READ MORE:<\/strong> Brutal Langer verdict in explosive cricket doco\ufeff<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

READ MORE:<\/strong> 'Insidious drug' that left ex-NRL star homeless<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

\ufeff<\/strong><\/p>\n

READ MORE:<\/strong> Australia's oldest Test cricketer dies<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

\"SYDNEY,<\/p>\n

In commentary for Nine, two-time Australian Open winner Jim Courier, suggested that Nadal's wider serve in his defeat to de Minaur could be a sign that the 36-year-old is not yet fully recovered from the abdominal injury<\/a> that ruined the back half of his 2022 season.<\/p>\n

However, after declaring \ufeffhe wasn't battling an injury in Sydney, Nadal again assured the press in Melbourne that his preparation is adequate to push for a consecutive title Down Under.<\/p>\n

Watch the Adelaide International 2, live and exclusive on<\/strong><\/em> 9Now<\/strong><\/em><\/a> and<\/strong><\/em> Stan Sport<\/strong><\/em><\/a><\/p>\n

"It's true that the last couple of tournaments I wasn't able to play my standards and here at the beginning of the season I lost two matches in Sydney, but honestly, I am not unhappy with the preparation," he said on Tuesday.<\/p>\n

"I think I'm in good shape. You need to demonstrate that in matches \u2026 but I'm confident that if I am able to have this last week of positive practice, why not?"<\/p>\n

Becoming a first-time father in October, Nadal \ufeffdid not feel the new responsibilities of fatherhood had adversly impacted his performance.<\/p>\n

"It's about adapting to this new part of my life in all ways," he said.<\/p>\n

\"Rafa<\/p>\n

"You need a little bit more organisation than before without a doubt.<\/p>\n

"But it's the first time that happens in my life.<\/p>\n

"So I need some time to adjust to all the things that are going to help me to stay the same as before, but I think I have all the things around me that help me to keep going without problems."<\/p>\n

For a daily dose of the best of the breaking news and exclusive content from Wide World of Sports, subscribe to our newsletter by<\/strong><\/em> clicking here<\/strong><\/em><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Rafael Nadal believes he is "in good shape" leading into next week's Australian Open, despite his 2023 season getting off to a sluggish start. \ufeff […]<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/262433"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=262433"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/262433\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":262435,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/262433\/revisions\/262435"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=262433"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=262433"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=262433"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}