Nadal wants to start afresh at 2018 Australian Open

Melbourne Jan 13 (IANS) Spanish tennis great Rafael Nadal has said the bitter disappointment of last year s narrow five-set loss to Roger Federer in the Australian Open final will not give him any extra motivation for this year s opening Grand Slam.

"It is impossible to be more motivated than last year or any year " the world number one told Xinhua news agency on Saturday.

"For me the Australian Open if you are not 100 percent motivated to win this tournament you probably don t love the sport."

Despite a stellar 2017 which saw the 31-year-old claim the US Open and a record 10th French Open title Nadal talked down the significance of beginning the year with the No.1 ranking.

"It is better to start No.1 than No.20 " the Spaniard said.

"But everyone starts from zero. I start from zero again. It s a new season an exciting one and I hope to be healthy competitive and most importantly to enjoy tennis."

"I just think about my first round... It s the first match of the year and I don t think further than that. I take it day by day as I always have."

Nadal s first hit out of the 2018 Australian Open will take place on Monday when he faces Victor Estrella Burgos of the Dominican Republic who currently ranks 81 in the world.

--IANS
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