"1st event without the baby, I lost 1st round; 2nd event, I was out of group stage" - Rafael Nadal jokes about adapting to life on tour as a father

Rafael Nadal will begin the 2023 season with his wife Maria Francisca Perello and their newborn son beside him. The Spaniard touched down in Sydney on Tuesday to lead his country at the United Cup.

Speaking at a press conference ahead of the tournament, Nadal was asked about how he was adapting to the tour as a new father. The 22-time Slam champion found that amusing, and joked about how his previous tournaments as a father had not been up to the mark.

Nadal lost out in his opener at the Paris Masters and got knocked out of the ATP Finals in the group stage.

The 36-year-old reckons he can only improve from there, and he added that he was shuffling things around and getting organized to make the transition easier for him and his family.

"The first event I play like a father without the baby with me, I lost first round. Second event, traveling with the baby, I was out of the group stage. At the end I won my last match, but I need to keep improving, no?" Nadal said. "We have some help. No problem at all. Just I need to organize little bit my life, as everybody needs to do when you have a child in your life."

With that question out of the way, the World No. 2 expressed excitement at being in Australia for a brand new competition. He added that he and his fellow Spaniards would do their best to go far in the event.

"Excited to be in Australia one more time. Hope to be ready to enjoy our month here in Australia," he said. "Excited to play this competition for the first time. Then let's see. We are focused now on this event. Let's try our best and let's see how far we can go."

"It's always different when you play like team" - Rafael Nadal on the United Cup

Rafael Nadal at the 2019 Davis Cup

Rafael Nadal further touched on the format of the United Cup, noting that team events were always different from standard tennis tournaments. With mixed team events even rarer, the former World No. 1 said he was looking forward to seeing how he and his compatriots went about their business next week.

"It's always different when you play as a team. We are used to play on Davis Cup or Fed Cup I think. I mean, is nothing 100% new, but at the same time it's the first time that we share forces between men, women," Nadal said. "Different story for us. Going to be exciting."

The Spaniard is confident of creating a good atmosphere with his teammates - Paula Badosa, Pablo Carreno Busta, Marc Lopez and others - and navigate a tough group that features hosts Australia and Great Britain.

"Yeah, I looking forward about how this new competition is working and how the things going to develop during the next couple of days," Nadal said. "I think we can create a good team atmosphere, and hopefully we can start well because we know we have a very tough group."