Former world number one Rafael Nadal yesterday said he expects “nothing” from himself before his return to the courts next month.
Nadal, 37, has been out with a hip injury since last January but is set to feature at Brisbane in the near year.
The Spaniard will use the tournament as a warm-up to the Australian Open in Melbourne having slumped to 663rd in the world before starting his final year before his expected retirement.
“I think I’m ready and I trust and hope that all goes well and it gives me the opportunity to enjoy myself on the court,” Nadal said in a video on social media.
“I expect from myself to expect nothing.
“To have the ability not to demand myself what I have demanded myself throughout my career,” the 22-time Grand Slam winner added.
Since being sidelined Nadal has been overtaken in the number of Grand Slam tournaments won by Serbian world number one Novak Djokovic, who now has 24 major titles.
Nadal will try to return to the highest level in Australia with the aim of competing at the French Open which he has won a record 14 times.
He is in line for a busy final season with the Grand Slams and the Olympic Games, where he won singles gold in Beijing in 2008 and doubles gold in Rio in 2016.
“I believe I’m in a different moment, situation. I am in an unexplored terrain,” Nadal said.
“I have internalised what I have had throughout my life, which is demand myself the maximum.
“Right now what I really hope is to be able not to do that, to accept things are going to be very difficult at the beginning and give myself the necessary time,” he added.
Rublev, Tiafoe headline
ATP return to Hong Kong
Hong Kong: World number five Andrey Rublev will begin his 2024 season at the Hong Kong Open when the ATP Tour returns to the city for the first time in more than 20 years, organisers said yesterday.The 26-year-old Russian will be joined by Grand Slam semi-finalists Frances Tiafoe and Karen Khachanov for the January 1-7 event at Victoria Park, an important warm-up for the Australian Open.
Men last competed for the Hong Kong Open in 2002 and former champions include Pete Sampras, Andre Agassi, Pat Cash, Ivan Lendl and Jimmy Connors.
Australian great Rod Laver won the inaugural edition in 1973.
The fiery Rublev, who will be top seed, won two titles this year, at Bastad in Sweden and Monte Carlo.
American world number 16 Tiafoe rose to prominence at the 2022 US Open, where he lost an epic five-set semi-final to eventual champion Carlos Alcaraz, having knocked out Rafael Nadal in the last 16. Russia’s Khachanov also has recent Grand Slam pedigree.
He also reached the semi-finals of the US Open in 2022, losing to Casper Ruud, and got to the last four of this year’s Australian Open where he lost to Stefanos Tsitsipas.
“I’m looking forward to helping bring back ATP Tour excitement to the city for the first time since the early 2000s,” said Khachanov.
Veteran Croat and 2014 US Open champion Marin Cilic will begin his injury comeback at the event.
The 35-year-old had knee surgery after suffering injury in January this year and only played one match on tour subsequently in 2023, sliding to 666th in the world.
