Nadal blamed rustiness for his loss to Alex De Minaur at the United Cup mixed teams tournament on Monday.
After losing to Britain’s Cameron Norrie in three sets, Nadal lost to the Australian 3-6 6-1 7-5.
For his Australian Open title defense, the record 22-time Grand Slam champion needs more matches like Monday’s.
It has been almost seven months since I played any official matches,” said the 36-year-old Spaniard, who was injured last year in the foot, ribs, and abdomen.
“I have two weeks before the Australian Open starts. I can’t say that the situation is ideal, but I can’t say that it’s very negative, either, because for moments I was playing well.”
Both teams knew they wouldn’t advance after losing to Britain, which will face the United States in the knockout stage on Wednesday.
After Taylor Fritz defeated Alexander Zverev, Madison Keys beat Jule Niemeier to ensure the US will top Group C.
A dominant serve helped Fritz defeat Zverev 6-1, 6-4.
Keys extended the United States’ lead to 2-0 by beating Niemeier 6-2, 6-3. Keys’ power and pinpoint serving were too much for Niemeier.
Keys said, “I just tried to serve as many first serves as possible to make the match as easy as possible.”
