Australian Open champion Rafael Nadal has promised that he will be at the Melbourne event come January. The Spaniard has been sideline by injury since Wimbledon earlier in the year. Aussie Open director Craig Tiley has said that Spanish No.1 Rafael Nadal will be present at the event come January. The former champion has been out of action due to a knee injury that he suffered from earlier in the year.
The former World No.1 has only recently resumed practise but has been cautious in his approach up until now. The King of Clay was last seen on court at Wimbledon where he lost to 100th ranked Lukas Rosol. He has spent the five intervening months rehabilitating a chronic knee injury, and recently vowed to return at an exhibition in Abu Dhabi starting on December 27. The Spaniard has been recuperating from that injury and has vowed to return to court by January. “We are fortunate that we start in January,” Tiley said. “Players have taken some time off so that they are not injured, like Rafa Nadal, whom I spoke to last week and he is going to be ready to play.” The 11-time Grand Slam champion is one of the most famous superstars of tennis and was involved in the longest ever Grand Slam final at the Rod Laver Arena where he lost to great rival Novak Djokovic after almost 6 hours on court. Rafael Nadal says he is “getting better” after starting training as part of his recovery from a knee injury. Nadal has not played a competitive match since losing to Czech Lukas Rosol in the second round of Wimbledon.
