Carlos Moya "confident" of Rafael Nadal's chances at Australian Open, says Spaniard can "win any tournament he plays" if he returns to his best

In a recent interview with the ATP tour, Rafael Nadal's coach Carlos Moya spoke about a number of topics, including the 20-time Major winner's recovery from a chronic foot injury and his aspirations for the start of the season.

Nadal's foot injury flared up during Roland Garros last year and he was forced to take a prolonged hiatus to recover. The Spaniard returned to competitive action at the Melbourne Summer Set, where he defeated Ricardo Berankis 6-2, 7-5 in the second round on Tuesday. Nadal looked a bit rusty but that was understandable given his time away from the court.

Moya, for his part, is confident Nadal will find his best tennis ahead of the Australian Open, which kicks off later this month.

"(Rafael Nadal) needs matches. Nobody reaches their maximum potential just by training. As much as you train well, you have to take it to the matches," he said. "We’re confident that those competing in Melbourne will help him find his rhythm for the Australian Open."

"Yes (Rafael Nadal will be competitive in Melbourne). Without a doubt, despite the fact that he hasn’t played for some time. I’m sure he will do well here," he added.

According to Moya, Nadal will be in contention to "win any tournament he plays" if he returns to full fitness.

"Five months have gone by, but nothing has happened that we didn’t know might happen. [Daniil] Medvedev won the US Open and [Alexander] Zverev the Nitto ATP Finals, but it was something we were expecting," Moya said. "Nobody burst through and won a Grand Slam, for example. More or less, it is as we left it. In summary; if Rafa returns to his best, he’s a candidate to win any tournament he plays in."

"There were some pretty tough moments, but his willpower is extraordinary" - Carlos Moya on Rafael Nadal's battle with injury

Carlos Moya admitted there was a lot of uncertainty surrounding Nadal's foot injury as they weren't sure how the Spaniard would respond to treatment. However, according to Moya, Nadal's "extraordinary willpower" aided his recovery and allowed him to shake off his injury in time for the Australian Open.

"We’ve been through a lot of moments of uncertainty because Rafa’s foot wasn’t getting better. Saying goodbye to last season wasn’t easy, even less so for someone like him, who loves competing so much. Then there were a lot of trips to doctors, treatments... in the past month he’s progressed," Moya said.

"We weren’t sure how he’d respond. There were some pretty tough moments, but his willpower is extraordinary. We’re here, happy to see him play in Melbourne. He is more than ready enough for things to go well."

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The former Roland Garros champion went on to hail Nadal's competitive spirit and hunger to keep winning.

"There are moments of doubt, but he is an incredible competitor. As soon as he is slightly better, there’s nothing he wants more than to keep being competitive and aspiring to win big tournaments. These kinds of players can think about retiring when they see that that doesn’t happen, but that’s not the case with Rafa. I don’t see that in him," he asserted.