Lob and Smash
Fansided

Rafael Nadal: No. 1 headed to 2018 Australian Open

By Harry Floyd

LONDON, ENGLAND - NOVEMBER 13: Rafael Nadal of Spain plays a backhand in his Singles match against David Goffin of Belgium during day two of the Nitto ATP World Tour Finals at O2 Arena on November 13, 2017 in London, England. (Photo by Clive Brunskill/Getty Images)
LONDON, ENGLAND - NOVEMBER 13: Rafael Nadal of Spain plays a backhand in his Singles match against David Goffin of Belgium during day two of the Nitto ATP World Tour Finals at O2 Arena on November 13, 2017 in London, England. (Photo by Clive Brunskill/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit

Rafael Nadal is on his way to the first Grand Slam event of the calendar year. He enters the 2018 Australian Open as the world No. 1.

Rafael Nadal is taking flight this week as he heads to Melbourne, Australia.

Ending his 2017 ATP World Tour as the year-end world No. 1, the pressure is on during the early months of the year for Nadal. He has struggled with lingering injuries since withdrawing from the ATP Finals in London after his opening match. Now, we will see if he is ready for action at Melbourne Park.

More from Lob and Smash

On Twitter, Nadal called out friends and fellow top players to see if they are ready for the tie break tens at Melbourne Park on Wednesday the 10th. The world No. 1 is clearly staying optimistic about the upcoming action in Australia.

Rafael Nadal finished runner-up to Roger Federer at the 2017 Australian Open.

The 2017 ATP World Tour featured both Nadal and Federer swapping Grand Slam titles throughout the year. The Swiss great took the title at Melbourne Park in a five set thriller over Nadal.

Throughout the course of the year, Federer even went undefeated against the world No. 1 in each of their individual matches. Now, Nadal has the chance to carry his 2017 momentum into the new year and prove that he can take home a second title at the Australian Open. Federer is in action this week at the Hopman Cup in Perth, Australia. He is off to a fine start in Perth, going undefeated with team Switzerland in their first two days of play.

Next: Top 10: Men's Singles Tennis

Everyone is waiting to see how Rafael Nadal is doing health wise. Another player to watch before the Australian Open is Andy Murray who has announced he is taking his ongoing hip injury day to day. Former six-time champion at Melbourne Park, Novak Djokovic, is also someone to watch for in the coming week. He is expected to play the Grand Slam event but also saw an early end to his 2017 ATP World Tour due to injury. Stan Wawrinka and others can be added to the list of players up in the air in terms of their health. The field will surely be an interesting one at this year’s Australian Open. Stay tuned to see how Nadal fares in his first few days in Melbourne.

Home/ATP