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Mubadala World Tennis Championship 2018 SF Rafael Nadal vs. Kevin Anderson  6-4  3-6  4-6

Rafael Nadal is satisfied with his first match back after undergoing ankle surgery last month but admits he will have to pull out of his third-place play-off in Abu Dhabi to avoid pushing his body too much too soon.

Nadal only got back to training two weeks ago in preparation for the new season and is now scheduled to kick off his 2019 in Brisbane next week.

ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Rafael Nadal is confident he can be fit for the Australian Open as he chases an 18th Grand Slam title.

A right knee injury forced Nadal to retire from his U.S. Open semifinal in early September — his last competitive match — and the 32-year-old Spaniard had ankle surgery at the start of November.

Asked Thursday to assess his fitness level out of 10 ahead of the Mubadala World Tennis Championship in Abu Dhabi, Nadal said: "I don't know . I am not that good with numbers".

Photo: Getty Images

Rafael Nadal will change his training regimen in a bid to avoid a repeat of his injury-plagued 2018, according to his coach Carlos Moya.

The world number two was hampered by a hip injury during the start of the year, pulling out of an Australian Open semi-final against Marin Cilic before returning for the clay-court season and winning an 11th French Open.

'I can't practice': Nadal reveals how he lived 'tragedy' of Mallorca floods
By Danielle Rossingh, for CNN

Manacor, Mallorca, Spain (CNN) - It's business as usual at the Rafa Nadal Academy in Manacor, on the Spanish island of Mallorca, the week before Christmas.
Rafael Nadal, the "King of Clay" with 17 grand slam titles to his name, is in a good mood as he drains a can of Coke while talking about his comeback from injury and surgery following an intense two-and-a-half practice session in the morning.
But when asked about the flash floods that struck Mallorca in October, killing 13 people, the former world No. 1 goes quiet.
"It was terrible," Nadal told CNN Sport in an exclusive interview at his academy. "Scary, and very sad."
Most of the deaths occured in the town of Sant Llorenç des Cardassar, near Manacor, after 20 centimeters (8 inches) of rain fell in just four hours.