After winning his sole Australian Open title in 2009, Nadal was forced out of its defence with knee trouble against Andy Murray, knocked out of a semi-final against countryman David Ferrer by a hamstring problem the following year and hobbled by a back injury during his losing final to Stan Wawrinka in 2014.
Nadal was forced to miss 2013 due to a stomach virus and when on the comeback trail from a wrist problem and appendicitis last year, he crashed out of the tournament with a straight sets quarter-final loss to Tomas Berdych, one of his worst grand slam defeats.
Whether battling injury or illness, Nadal has rarely arrived at Melbourne Park without something nagging at his confidence so his early season fitness has come as a breath of fresh air.
"I have had good practices here," he told reporters breezily at Melbourne Park on Saturday.
"Very happy to be here again. Good feelings. Just trying to be ready."
Baby comes first for Australian Open contender Murray
World number two Andy Murray has repeated, emphatically, that he will abandon the pursuit of his first Australian Open title if his wife goes into labour early.
The men's final of the year's opening grand slam is scheduled for Jan. 31 and with his wife Kim expecting their first child in mid-February it should give him time to return home to Britain for the birth.
The Scot, who said late last year that he would abandon the tournament if his wife went into labour during it, was asked on Saturday whether he had changed his mind.
"The same thing would happen," the 28-year-old Briton told reporters. "For me, my child is more important to me, and my wife is more important to me than a tennis match."
Murray insisted he was still focused on achieving one of his primary goals for 2016 and winning his first Melbourne Park title after losing four previous finals, though the impending arrival of his first child was proving a welcome distraction.
"I think most days I think about that. Just now it's a big change coming. It's very, very exciting," he said.
Federer gives Djokovic 'little star' of approval
Novak Djokovic deserves a "little star" next to his name for a spectacular 2015 season that saw him win three grand slams among his 11 titles but the men's game is not simply a matter of the Serb versus the rest, Roger Federer said on Saturday.
The world number one's dominance has seen pundits line up to declare the end of the 'Big Four' -- suggesting Federer, Rafa Nadal and Andy Murray are unable to compete on equal terms at grand slams with Djokovic.
The Serb heads into the Australian Open a raging favourite to capture his sixth title at Melbourne Park but Federer gave short shrift to talk of a Djokovic dictatorship, pointing to Stan Wawrinka's victory over him in the French Open final.
"It completely depends what you're looking at. If you're looking at (Djokovic's) season, he was the most dominant player by far last year," Federer told reporters at Melbourne Park.
"Then if you look at just who won the slams and the Masters 1000s, doesn't hold truth, because Stan won the French.
"Who's had the most success? The top five guys really, with Stan, you know, Murray, myself, Novak and Rafa.
"Now the rankings are back to more normal again after Rafa's worked his way back up.
"Yeah, I still think the same guys are playing very well. But, of course, Novak deserves like a little star next to his name right now because he's been doing extremely well.
"Same for Stan, really."
source: www.abs-cbnnews.com
