Spain's Rafael Nadal greets teammate Nuria Diaz (right) for her victory against Australia's Maddison Inglis after their women's singles match on day five of the United Cup tennis tournament in Sydney on January 2, 2023. (Photo by DAVID GRAY / AFP)
Sydney: Reigning Australian Open champion Rafael Nadal said he was "not too alarmed" on Monday after he lost a second straight singles match in the United Cup warm-up event.
"Honestly, I'm not too alarmed or too negative about what happened. There was a real chance to lose these kinds of matches," said Nadal after falling to Alex de Minaur in Sydney.
"There is room to improve. I really believe I can do it."
Nadal dropped six consecutive games after leading a set and 1-0 against de Minaur as the Australian turned the match around for a 3-6, 6-1, 7-5 upset in Sydney.
Nadal also lost to Cameron Norrie in his country's first tie at the mixed-teams event as Spain were beaten by Great Britain at the weekend.
With his singles run over at the inaugural edition of the competition, being played in three cities, 22-time Grand Slam winner Nadal is keen to get to Melbourne and train for his Open title defence starting in a fortnight.
"I have two weeks before the start," Nadal said. "I can't say the situation is ideal, but I can't say that it's very negative.
"For moments I was playing well, two matches are going to help. I arrived needing a little bit more time."
The veteran said he was outplayed by world number 24 De Minaur.
"He played better in the important moments. I had my chances but I made important mistakes at those moments that I can't do if I want to win."
