Veteran Rafael Nadal admitted he needs to keep fighting in order to achieve his best after going down to Australia’s Alex de Minaur in three sets in Sydney in the ongoing United Cup. The Spaniard won the first set but ended up on the wrong side of the result, losing 3-6, 6-1, 7-5.

Nadal admitted he hasn’t played any professional tennis in the last six months and thus he will take some time to hit the ground running. It hasn’t been an ideal start for the experienced campaigner as he has lost both of his matches in 2023, first against Cameron Norrie and then Alex de Minaur.

However, the 36-year-old feels he played good tennis in patches but he wasn’t consistent enough throughout the game to yield the result for himself.

“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.”

Meanwhile, Nadal had won the 2022 Australian Open after beating Daniil Medvedev in the final and had got off to a 20-0 start in the previous season. However, the left-hander will have his work cut out as Novak Djokovic will return to action following his deportation in the previous edition of Happy Slam.

The Australian Open will begin on January 16.