Spanish tennis player Rafael Nadal leaves the hospital after appendicitis surgery in Barcelona November 5, 2014. REUTERS/Gustau Nacarino
Spanish tennis player Rafael Nadal leaves the hospital after appendicitis surgery in Barcelona November 5, 2014. Reuters

Spanish tennis superstar Rafael Nadal is targeting a January 2015 return to the tennis court and is hoping to participate in the upcoming Mubadala World Tennis Championship in Abu Dhabi on January 1 to 3 and the 2015 Qatar Open in Doha in the following week. The current number 3 ranked player in the world also vowed to be a hundred per cent when he participated in the first major tournament of the year, the Australian Open in Melbourne.

"I have a month before Australia to get to my best level," Nadal said to BBC. "I hope to be healthy enough to work as much as I need and want, and if that happens I really feel confident I can come back strong."

The year 2014 was not kind to the King of Clay as he tallied just 81% on win records, his lowest since 2004. The Spaniard had to battle most of the year with an assortment of injuries to his back, wrist and appendix that kept him out of most of the tournaments for the last quarter of 2014. In retrospect, the 28-year-old admitted that he should not have pushed through with playing the past three tournaments with an ailing back. The said handicap was mostly evident in the results as he never reached as beyond the quarterfinals of the said events. If there is any consolation in this year, Nadal affixed his ninth French Open title and fifth straight win at Roland Garros, a testament to his mastery of the clay court.

Nadal reveals that he plans to rest some 10 to 12 days before he resumes training for next year's tournaments. He plans to use the whole month of December to get his body in the right condition and hopefully put out a 100% readiness when the Australian Open comes around. He also hopes to participate in the first tournament in Abu Dhabi where he has some history of success particularly in 2009 and 2011 when he won the title.

The Spain pride also underwent stem cell therapy to be at par with some of the world's best like Novak Djokovic, Stanislas Wawrinka, and Gael Monfils who have already signified their participation in the Mubadala World tennis Championship. Aside from the tournament in Abu Dhabi, the 14-time Grand Slam winner is putting emphasis on reversing his fortunes at the upcoming Australian Open where he bowed last year to Wawrinka due to back problems.