Nadal: Suffering injuries for two years in a row would be mentally killing

, who withdrew from the Brisbane International this week, has insisted he wants to focus on healing well from injuries. Speaking to reporters in Abu Dhabi, where he played one match at the Mubadala Tennis Championship, Nadal said, The thing that I dont want to do is suffer more than what I did last year, because if you do (suffer injuries two) years in a row, that mentally kills you.

I really believe that I have to keep having tennis to play in my career, and I really feel that my body is not going to get worse every year. Really my only goal is to keep doing the things that makes me happy, and today playing tennis makes me happy, and I want to do it the best way possible and as long as possible. Nadal also clarified that the rankings are not his priority now: My goal is just to be happy doing what I am doing and be competitive all the weeks that I am playing.

I want to feel myself competitive every week that I am on court and I want to keep fighting for the things that really make me feel alive, you know, for the things that motivate me. So I will not (chase) the number one because its not my main goal.

Of course, I prefer to be number one than number two, and I prefer to be number two than number five, thats obvious. The world no. 2s injury-related setbacks continued as he was forced to pull out of Brisbane with a strain in his left thigh.

Nadal, however, plans to play the Australian Open, later in January. ALSO READ: Rafael Nadal: Worse players than David Ferrer won a Grand Slam title