Rafael Nadal loses the first two matches of a season for the first time in his career

Rafael Nadal is off to an unprecedented start to 2023, losing the first two matches of the season for the first time in his illustrous career.

After losing 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 to Great Britain's Cameron Norrie in his first match at the United Cup on Saturday, Nadal suffered a 3-6, 6-1, 7-5 defeat against Australia's Alex de Minaur on Monday in Sydney.

These were the only two matches for the World No. 2 in the build-up to the first Grand Slam tournament of the year, the Australian Open, set to begin on January 16.

Last year, the 36-year-old legend bettered his own record by registering his best-ever start to the season as he won the first 20 matches on the trot. His previous best was 11-0 in 2014. He had a dream first half in 2022, winning four titles, including the Australian Open and French Open.

However, things went downhill in the second half as he struggled with multiple injuries.

The Spaniard suffered a torn abdominal muscle in July and had to withdraw from Wimbledon before his semifinal clash against Nick Kyrgios. Borna Coric then beat him in the first round of the Cincinnati Masters before Frances Tiafoe ended his hunt for a 23rd Major in the fourth round of the US Open.

Nadal once again bowed out in the opening round of the Paris Masters with a defeat against American Tommy Paul. The 2022 ATP Finals saw the 22-time Grand Slam champion fail to reach the knockout stages. The Spaniard has won only one match in his last seven outings.

He will be defending his Australian Open title later this month, although his preparations seem highly underwhelming as of now.

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"I’m not too negative about what happened" - Rafael Nadal on losing two matches ahead of Australian Open

Rafael Nadal during the United Cup

Although Rafael Nadal has lost the first two matches of the new season, he is not too worried going into the Australian Open. In a press conference after his match against Alex de Minaur, the Spaniard stated that he needed more matches and that the two losses helped him.

“I need battles like this,” Nadal said. “I didn’t play much official matches the last six months, almost seven. Days like these two help. Of course, with victories, the process is faster, but I need to keep fighting. For moments, I played a good level of tennis, playing good with the backhand, changing directions with the forehand."

While he admits that his preparations for the Grand Slam event are not perfect, he is not too disappointed with the way he is playing.

"I have two weeks before the Australian Open starts. I can’t say the situation is ideal but at the same time, I can’t say it’s negative because for moments, I was playing good. I think that two matches are going to help me. I need to win a couple of matches. But the level wasn’t that bad," he said.

He added:

"I’m not too alarmed, too negative about what happened. I think it was a real chance to lose these kind of matches. Last year, I lost two matches in Abu Dhabi, and that’s it."