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<\/p>\nRafael Nadal has struggled with injury over the last couple of years <\/p>\n
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Australian Open chief Craig Tiley said he remained confident Rafael Nadal would be at Melbourne Park in January despite the 37-year-old\u2019s struggles with injuries over the last couple of years.<\/p>\n
Nadal, who won two of his 22 major singles titles in Melbourne, has not played a competitive match since bowing out in the second round of this year\u2019s edition of the Grand Slam when hampered by a hip flexor problem.<\/p>\n
\u201cRafa has been training, I follow him closely, probably every day, because he\u2019s a massive drawcard for us,\u201d Tiley told reporters in Melbourne on Thursday.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe wants to play, he\u2019s obviously planning on playing. It all depends on how he pulls up.<\/p>\n
\u201cHopefully in the next week or the next two weeks, we get some specific confirmation of that. I\u2019m certain Rafa will be here because he\u2019s not going to want to miss the opportunity to repeat what he did a couple of years ago.\u201d<\/p>\n
In the 2022 final against Daniil Medvedev, Nadal became the first man in the Open era to come back from two sets down to win the title.<\/p>\n
Nadal has expressed a desire to play one more French Open and represent Spain at the Paris Olympics next year before retiring at the end of his 23rd season on the tour.<\/p>\n
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Rafael Nadal has not played since the Australian Open in January <\/p>\n
His team have yet to reveal any plans for his return to the court, however, and Nadal said last week in Barcelona that he was unsure about the timeline.<\/p>\n
\u201cI have been able to train a little bit more, the progress seems pretty good,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t know when I will be back playing, for sure it is closer than the last time I spoke to the media. If you want me to tell you when I\u2019m returning, I\u2019m not going to do it because I don\u2019t know when it is going to be.\u201d<\/p>\n
Tiley was less bullish than he has been in the past about the prospect of local drawcard Nick Kyrgios taking part in his home Grand Slam.<\/p>\n
Kyrgios has struggled with knee and wrist injuries since pulling out of last year\u2019s Australian Open at the 11th hour and has played only one tour match since the Japan Open in October 2022.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have spoken to Nick, and he obviously wants to do the best he possibly can to give him the best chance to play in January,\u201d Tiley said of the 2022 Wimbledon finalist.<\/p>\n