On the eve of his eighth campaign to match a feat only Rod Laver has achieved, Rafael Nadal is loath to build up expectations given a limited lead-up.
The 34-year-old has played only one exhibition match against Dominic Thiem in Adelaide nine days ago, and elected to skip Spain’s four ATP Cup ties at Melbourne Park to ease back stiffness.
The Spaniard is averse to talking up his chances even on the terre battue of Paris, where he added a record-equalling 20th major last October.
But this time he insists his focus must rest solely on navigating a route past 56th-ranked Serbian Laslo Djere on Tuesday to buy more preparation time.
“I don't think about not playing. The thing is about in which conditions I’m going to start the tournament,” Nadal said.
“I am practising again. I did a lot of things to recover. [It] is not serious, but the muscle is still tight.”
Since winning the second of his four US Open titles in 2013, the Spaniard has stood one Australian Open trophy away from joining Laver as only the second man in the Open era to snare every major twice.
Nadal is well aware of the history on the line, especially the chance to pull clear of Roger Federer with a 21st major, but was at a loss to pinpoint a reason why he has come up short at Melbourne Park more than any other Grand Slam stage.
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“Nobody in the history of the Open Era won twice in every single event. I mean, I don't find a real reason, he said. “I think I had the big chance in 2014. I got injured during the match on the back. It was a tough one.
“Then I had another good chance in 2012, another good chance in 2017 with a break up in the fifth. I just didn't win the match.
“That's all, I can't find another reason. It is true that I missed a couple of Australian Opens for injuries, too.”
The spearhead of the Spanish ATP Cup team was an animated courtside fixture in all three of his team’s group matches and losing semifinal at Melbourne Park this past week.
Despite not suiting up in the red and gold to head into battle for Spain on court, however, he did practise with the team on each of those days.
There was also a chance to hit with 17-year-old Carlos Alcaraz, the heir apparent in Spanish men’s tennis, who scored his first top 10 win over David Goffin last week.
In a measure of Nadal’s longevity at the top, he last month passed 800 consecutive weeks in the top 10, a stretch which spans more than 15 years.
Disrupted lead-ups to majors throughout this period are certainly not new to him.
“Of course I have experience on all of this,” Nadal said. “[It] is not a drama, is not something that can't happen. These kind of things can happen. Happened to me in the past.
“The only thing that I can [do] is keep doing my way, give myself chances to, first of all, compete at the beginning of the tournament, and then give myself chances to try to go over that first round against Djere, and then you win days to try to be better.”