'It feels strange, I'm not used to play before a Major,' says Rafael Nadal

The 20-time Major champion Rafael Nadal will kick off the season against Alex de Minaur at the ATP Cup on February 2, hoping for another strong national jersey campaign.

The Spaniard is not used to compete a week before a Major, but he feels motivated to give his best in the team competition ahead of the Australian Open, seeking the first Melbourne crown since 2009.

"For me, preparation has been positive. I have been able to practice for around two hours per day in Adelaide. Some days a little bit more, two hours 15, two hours 20. That's it. I think I did the things that I had to do to be ready. Now is the moment to start playing and practicing with other colleagues, and let's see what's going on. When we arrived here, we have this quarantine. But I think that's over. It is the moment to start talking about tennis.

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That's why we came here: to play tennis, to try to give to the fans around the world and here in Australia. For some of the people suffering a lot at home, we try to have good entertainment for them. The only way to make that happen is to go on court, try our best. It's a very unusual situation for most of us. Most of you that are around tennis know I never play the week before a Grand Slam. So it's a bit new and strange situation.

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But here I am, the same as the rest of the team, to try our best in every moment. Because we are a team and a good one, we have different options with great players. Everybody's ready to play on a competitive level. It was an emotional match against de Minaur last year, not great for me, but emotional. Alex is young; he's improving every year. I think it's going to be a tough battle for all of us playing against a great team like Australia," Rafael Nadal said.