AUSTRALIAN Open tournament director Craig Tiley expects Rafael Nadal to be fit for the January 14 Grand Slam - and believes he will arrive as a contender.

The world No.4 last week spoke of his return from a six-month break with knee soreness, but discounted his chances of winning the Open.



There is still significant conjecture whether he will be ready at all by January, but Tiley is confident after recently speaking with the 2009 Australian Open champion.



Tiley needs look no further than Nadal's epic five hour and 53 minute final loss to Novak Djokovic in January to realise his importance as a drawcard.



Nadal has not played since Wimbledon, but Tiley says the Spaniard has been practising regularly and would not enter a tournament half-fit.



"We expect him to play and he is expecting to play himself," Tiley said.



"I know a couple of weeks ago I sent him four cases of balls. I know he's been practising.



"I have been speaking to him and his team. His first planned event is back right after Christmas (a lucrative Abu Dhabi exhibition on December 27), so a lot hinges on where he is at then.



"But we have a full expectation he will be ready to play.



"I think Rafa doesn't walk into anything unprepared. I think he's been playing for a while."



Nadal's presence at a grand slam event for the first time since Wimbledon would round out the field as the strongest seen at Melbourne Park.



The event has already announced record prizemoney of $30 million, and while a round-by-round breakdown has not yet been released, the expectation is first-round losers will pocket an extra 25 per cent.



"Right now we are expecting the top 100 men and the top 100 women," Tiley said.



"Normally around this time you get a sense if someone is injured or still recovering, but all of them are on track and we are talking the top 16 seeds.



"Everyone on the women's side pulled up healthy after their (year-ending) championships and the only question mark is Rafa, but we addressed that a month ago when we spoke to him.



"There is no question he is a drawcard. The Rafa-Roger (Federer) rivalry is the longest and most intriguing one, and then you add in (Andy) Murray and Djokovic.



"Last year it was a dream run with the semis and then the final. I remember at the end of it, seeing both Rafa and Djokovic after the final with no one else around, and they were both flat on the floor and getting attended to, because they were so spent."



Originally published as Fit Nadal an Open contender: Tiley