Rafael Nadal braved Melbourne's unseasonably wet conditions to officially launch the fleet of specially equipped Kia Australian Open courtesy vehicles at Melbourne Park today.
The world No.1 arrived outside Rod Laver Arena in a brand new Kia Optima and handed the keys to the entire fleet to Tennis Australia CEO, Steve Wood.
Wood commended Kia Australia CEO M.K. Kim on the Korean maker's alliance with the Australian Open. There will be a total of 101 brand new Kia's ferrying our Australian Open hopefuls around Melbourne over the coming weeks.
Nadal looked relaxed and in good health which will come as great news to his fans after he contracted an illness in Doha last week, and was bundled out of the Qatar Open semifinals by world No.23 Nikolay Davydenko.
The Spanish champ has had a stellar year and is hoping to convert his unbeatable form into a fourth consecutive Grand Slam win.
Proving just how focused he is on Australian Open 2011, Nadal brushed off suggestions that a potential Grand Slam added to his desire to win the 2011 tournament. "My motivation is the Australian Open. There is nothing bigger than this. My motivation is this tournament. "
The popular Spaniard is remaining calm and not letting the pressure of a potential history-making win get to him.
"For me the pressure is the same, like every tournament the pressure is my pressure. I want to play well I want to do the right things," said the multi-Grand Slam champion.
2011 marks Kia's 10th year as a major sponsor of the Australian Open and they are celebrating with the upcoming release of the all new mid-sized Optima. The Optima adds to Kia's already outstanding line-up of passenger vehicles and will help ensure the players are transported to Melbourne Park safely and in true Kia style
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