Nadal wary of tough Australian Open start

Rafael Nadal says he has an early chance to prove he is ready for the Australian Open after being handed a 'tough start'. The Spanish world number one has a tough quarter of the draw, beginning with local Bernard Tomic in the first round on Tuesday. Nadal is wary of world number 52 Tomic but said it was an opportunity to show he was ready for the competition. "It's a tough start but what I thought is just I need to be ready and just practice with the great tactics every day, try to do the right things in every moment to arrive in the first round with the competitive. That's the only way," Nadal told reporters on Saturday. "He's (Tomic) always a challenging player. He has a big talent. He has a good serve. He's able to play with very good control from the baseline. He has a very good talent on where you're going to hit the ball. "He's a good player to start the tournament. To be through in that first round is because I'm ready to compete well. If not, I'm going to be ready to be practicing at home. That's all." Nadal, who said he was unfazed by the top ranking, appears unhappy with the fast conditions of the courts at Melbourne Park this year. "(It's) faster conditions than I ever played here in Australia," the 27-year-old said. "I really don't understand very well why they change because the last couple of years, Australian Open had amazing matches, long ones, good ones for the crowd. "I don't know why the people decide to make the conditions that fast."