“He’ll have the ‘knife between his teeth’!”

Arriving late in the evening of Wednesday 27 December 2023 in Australia, at the Queensland Tennis Centre, the 22-time Slam champion Rafael Nadal made his first emotional statements. “I’m happy to be back on tour and here in Brisbane after a few years,” he told brisbaneinternational.com.au.

the Spanish. In a few days, his season will begin in Brisbane. A restart for the Spanish champion, whose last appearance dates back to the Australian Open, where he suffered that psoas injury in the match against Mackenzie Mcdonald, which then kept him away from the circuit for the whole year.

His preparation has come this far without a hitch. The 22-time slam champion decided to place the first part of his training in Kuwait, where he gave ample demonstration of being back in great physical condition. The former number one, who will start again in 672nd position in the ranking, will make his return as a wildcard at the ATP 250 tournament, which will start on December 31st, before returning to Melbourne for the Happy Slams.

Nadal has already trained on Show Court Two and will perform in a match with world number 8 Holger Rune at Pat Rafter Arena in the evening.

Bautista praises Nadal’s fighting spirit

Another unmissable event for his fans is scheduled for tomorrow at 10am on the Queen Street Mall stage, where the 37-year-old Majorcan, accompanied by tournament director Cameron Pearson, will have a close encounter with them.

Rafa will answer the questions that come to him and will sign autographs and balls, for the lucky ones. His countryman Roberto Bautista Agut said Rafa will do everything possible to compete at the highest levels, thanks to his talent and competitive spirit.

“I don’t know, but he has the knife between his teeth and he will put all his effort into having a good year, that’s for sure. I know him and I know how competitive he is,” Bautista said to MARCA.