Nadal returns after 4-month layoff and loses to Murray

Murray defeated Nadal 6-3, 7-5 in an hour and 50 minutes for the third final at this event, seeking the third title against Andrey Rublev.

Nadal did not play since early August due to a left foot injury, missing the rest of the season and working hard on his game at home in Mallorca.

The 20-time Grand Slam champion’s chronic foot injury forced him to sit out the final months of this season.

Nadal has not competed since early August when he lost to Lloyd Harris in Washington. He missed Wimbledon, the Tokyo Olympics and the U.S. Open.

The sixth-ranked Nadal fell to Murray 6-3, 7-5 at the Mubadala World Championship. He’s scheduled to face Denis Shapovalov for third place.

The 35-year-old Spaniard plans to play an ATP tournament in Melbourne early in the new year before the Australian Open begins Jan. 17.

“I know it´s going to be super difficult for me,” Nadal said about his Australian Open prospects according to AP.

With two matches in Abu Dhabi and the Melbourne warmup, he said, “the amount of hours on court at the competitive level before such a tough and demanding tournament like Australia will be not much.

“But the main thing is still always the same – is to be healthy,” he continued. “If I am healthy, I still have the interior fire to keep going and to fight for my goals.”

Nadal, Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic are tied with a record 20 Grand Slam singles titles each.

Nadal held from 30-0 down in the ninth game, and he had to produce another good service game at 5-5 to secure a tie break.

Nadal fended off two break chances in the second set’s opening game with service winners and fired an ace at 1-1 to stay ahead.

Delivering aggressive tennis, the Spaniard fended off two break chances in the fifth game and failed to reach break opportunity in game eight despite deuces.