Rafael Nadal has fired a warning to Australian Open rivals ahead of the tournament. The tennis championship will begin on February 8 at Melbourne and run for two weeks. Nadal has said he feels he has prepared well for the challenge. “I hope to have the right preparation for the Australian Open, I won there in 2009 but almost everybody has forgotten about that.” Rafael Nadal joked after his 7-5, 6-4 exhibition win over Dominic Thiem. “I have been training hard and this year I will keep trying my best.” Nadal also praised the Australian battle against coronavirus that had allowed for a large crowd to attend. “It’s been a hard year for the whole world in general,” he said. “For us in Spain, we were hit very hard with the virus. We’re still in a very tough situation. “I think Australia is an amazing, positive example for how to make things the right way and control the pandemic. So, many congratulations to the country. “Last two weeks have been great, of course, it’s not ideal to stay 14 days in quarantine but that’s the way that we need to do things today. We can’t thank South Australia and Tennis Australia enough.”
Source: TennisHead