London, United KingdomRafael Nadal of Spain attends a news conference after being defeated by Nick Kyrgios of Australia in their men's singles tennis match at the Wimbledon Tennis Championships, in London July 1, 2014.
London, United KingdomRafael Nadal of Spain attends a news conference after being defeated by Nick Kyrgios of Australia in their men's singles tennis match at the Wimbledon Tennis Championships, in London July 1, 2014. REUTERS

Bitten by the injury bug multiple times in the 2014 ATP tennis season, Rafael Nadal is hoping that he’d be healthy in 2015 and return back to form that brought him the 2014 French Open at Roland Garros. The tennis ace form Mallorca, Spain has said in a recent interview that he has enough time to recover just in time for the first Grand Slam event of the year, the 2015 Australian Open in Melbourne, Australia.

"I have all of December and the start of January to train before the Australian Open and I hope that will be enough for me to get to the level that I want to be at,” the 28-year-old Nadal told china.org.cn. "The last six months have been complicated. Now I would like to start the year well and be at my best every week I have to compete.”

The 2015 Australian Open is scheduled from Jan. 19 to Feb. 1, 2015 and the top players including World No. 1 Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer, Stan Wawrinka are all expected to play in the first tennis major of the upcoming ATP season. Barring any problems with his health, the Spanish star is hoping to re-join those elite players as the injury-free Nadal is considered one of the best tennis players in the planet.

The 14-time Grand Slam champion is also expected to make an appearance at the Abu Dhabi exhibition tournament scheduled on Jan. 1 to Jan. 3 and he is expected to use his time there to work back into his prime conditioning and top form.

The 2014 season ended in frustration for Nadal, who had to battle with different injures throughout the latter half of the year. The Spaniard injured his wrist before the 2014 US Open and he failed to suit up and defend the majors title he won in 2013. Nadal tried to comeback in other ATP tournaments but disappointed as he continued to struggle with his health. He had surgery on his appendix in early November.

Nadal, who went 48-11 in 2014 with four titles and earned $6,736,843 for the year, remained positive despite the constant injuries.

“I can't make a positive balance because I have been injured, but a year in which I won a Grand Slam is never going to be a bad year. I would be happy if the next three years were as good as this," Nadal stated in the same article. "These are things that happen, it's not a chronic injury and it's different from the knee problems I had in 2012.”

For more Rafael Nadal news and Rafael Nadal injury updates, check IBT Sports daily.

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