Nadal, Team Spain Land In Perth For ATP Cup
Rafael Nadal is back in Australia and ready to kick off the new season at the inaugural ATP Cup.
The World No. 1 touched down in Perth on Sunday and made time for selfies and autographs with his fans. Nadal looks to guide Team Spain out of Group B, which also features Japan (led by Kei Nishikori), Georgia (led by Nikoloz Basilashvili) and Uruguay (led by Pablo Cuevas).
???? The World No. 1 is back in Australia ????
— ATPCup (@ATPCup) December 29, 2019
The moment ???????? @RafaelNadal & #TeamSpain landed in Perth ????@WestAustralia | #thisiswa pic.twitter.com/roVMhKWOum
The Spaniard spent his pre-season training in Mallorca at the Rafa Nadal Academy by Movistar. Francisco Roig, Nadal’s coach since 2005, joined him for a few days and was impressed with what he saw.
“Rafa is spectacular,” Roig said. “He’s found some very good form. He’s feeling confident in the way he is playing and his serve is really helping him. I think Nadal looks great. Now it’s a question of maintaining his game.”
Nadal is eager to maintain his momentum from finishing 2019 as year-end No. 1 for the fifth time. He prevailed at Roland Garros (d. Thiem) and the US Open (d. Medvedev), in addition to taking ATP Masters 1000 titles in Rome (d. Djokovic) and Montreal (d. Medvedev).
Spain begins their campaign on Saturday against Georgia.