Nadal beaten but says knee feels fine

Melbourne, AFP: World number one Rafael Nadal lost his first match of the year 6-4, 7-5 to Richard Gasquet at the Kooyong Classic on Tuesday, but said he was happy after his troublesome knee held up "fine".

Nadal's knee injury hampered the end of his 2017 season and forced him to skip last week's Brisbane International, but he was able to give it a workout at the non-tour event in Melbourne.

Though he lost in straight sets, the Spaniard said he would keep working hard until the start of the Australian Open at Melbourne Park on Monday.

"I"m very happy to be back in Australia," he said. "I had a heavy year in 2017 and I started my preparation later than usual.

"But I've arrived in plenty of time. It's great to get the feeling once again of playing a match.

"This was a good test for me after some good training, that's the most important thing."

The 16-time Grand Slam winner was far from his best in the exhibition encounter against a player he has beaten 15-0 on the ATP Tour in a rivalry dating back to junior days.

Nadal, 31, heads the entry list for the Australian Open and said he will be ready to front up for the first round.

"The knee is fine," he said in answer to the inevitable question. "I'm here.

"If I was not feeling good I would not be here, so that's good news. I'll train hard over the next few days for the Australian Open, I will be ready."

Nadal is not playing any more matches at Kooyong, but he is also scheduled to turn out for a Tie Break Tens tournament at Melbourne Park on Wednesday evening.

Separately, Spain's Pablo Carreno Busta defeated Belgian world number seven David Goffin 1-6, 7-6 (7/4), 6-3.

In the women's competition, Germany's Andrea Petkovic rallied to defeat Australian teenager Destanee Aiava 3-6, 6-3, 6-2 in windy conditions.