Tennis: Craig Tiley remains confident of Rafael Nadal's return for Australian Open

AustralianOpenchiefCraig Tiley said he remains confident that Rafael Nadalwould be atMelbournePark in January despite the 37-year-old's struggles with injuries over the last couple of years. Nadal, who won two of his 22 major singles titles inMelbourne, has not played a competitive match since bowing out in the second round of this year's edition of the Grand Slam when hampered by a hip flexor problem.

"Rafael has been training, I follow him closely, probably every day, because he's a massive drawcard for us," Tiley told reporters inMelbourneon Thursday. "He wants to play, he's obviously planning on playing. It all depends on how he pulls up."

"Hopefully in the next week or the next two weeks, we get some specific confirmation of that. I'm certain Rafael will be here because he's not going to want to miss the opportunity to repeat what he did a couple of years ago." In the 2022 final against Daniil Medvedev,Nadal became the first man in theOpenera to comebackfrom two sets down to win the title.

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Nadalhas expressed a desire to play one more FrenchOpenand represent Spain at the Paris Olympics next year before retiring at the end of his 23rd season on the tour. His team is yet to reveal any plans for his return to the court, however, andNadalsaid last week in Barcelona that he was unsure about the timeline.

"I have been able to train a little bit more, the progress seems pretty good," he said. "I don't know when I will bebackplaying, for sure it is closer than the last time I spoke to the media. If you want me to tell you when I'm returning, I'm not going to do it because I don't know when it is going to be."

Tiley was less bullish than he has been in the past about the prospect of local drawcard Nick Kyrgios taking part in his home Grand Slam. Kyrgios has struggled with knee and wrist injuries since pulling out of last year'sAustralianOpenat the 11th hour and has played only one tour match since the JapanOpenin October 2022.

"We have spoken to Nick, and he obviously wants to do the best he possibly can to give him the best chance to play in January," Tiley said of the 2022 Wimbledon finalist. "Whether he's playing, whether he's doing something else, Nick will be here in January and to get him to play will be great. But we've got to take it as it comesand he's got to make sure he takes care of his health..."