World No. 1 Nadal to begin 2018 at Brisbane International

Johannesburg [South Africa], August 20 (ANI): 15-time Grand Slam champion Rafael Nadal will begin his Australian Open build-up at the Brisbane International tennis tournament in January, the organisers said on Sunday.

Nadal will take the top rankings spot when the official ATP rankings are released on Monday. This will be the first time the Spanish ace has hit the top spot since 2014.

The Spaniard played in Brisbane for the first time in January and he went on to reach the Australian Open final in Melbourne where he lost to Swiss maestro Roger Federer.

"I'm very happy to be back, last year for me was the first experience and was very successful," Sport24 quoted Nadal as saying in a statement.

"The atmosphere is great and there's a lot of nice people supporting the event. I really enjoyed the experience," he added.

The Brisbane International takes place from December 31 to January 7.

Brisbane International Tournament Director Geoff Quinlan said the Nadal would be a sure-fire favourite with fans this summer.

"It's beyond exciting to be welcoming Rafa back to Brisbane for our tenth tournament. He's one of the world's most legendary and electric players, and was adored by fans in Brisbane earlier this year," Quinlan said.

"Nadal is in career best form having just won his tenth French Open title, and I'm sure he'll delight fans with his physical game at Pat Rafter Arena," he added. (ANI)