Regaining the world No.1 ranking is the last thing on Rafael Nadal’s mind after an injury-plagued 2018.

But the 32-year-old is still obsessed with being the last man standing at a grand slam this year.

The world No.2 said where he sits on the standings no longer bothers him as long as he is “on court with a positive feeling”.

On paper it didn’t appear he felt too positive, too often in 2018.

He was limited to nine tournaments last year due to a string of ailments.

A hip injury forced him out of the Australian Open quarter-finals.

An ongoing right knee complaint made him withdraw from the US Open semi-finals.

And ankle surgery in November has disrupted his preparation for this month’s opening grand slam in Melbourne.

Yet Nadal reckoned what he showed when he eventually got on court last season gave him confidence that he could add to his 17 grand slams when fit this year.

“It was a great level of tennis every time that I was on court,” he said.

“So that’s great news. I enjoyed it a lot.

“I achieved things that were amazing for me.

“It was a tough year in terms of injuries. (But) in terms of tennis level, I enjoyed every time I had the chance to be on court so it was a great year.”

Remarkably, the Spaniard won five of the nine tournaments he entered and finished 2018 with a 45-4 win-loss record to narrowly miss the top men’s ranking.

Not that he was looking at the world standings that much these days.

Asked if he wanted to reclaim No.1, Nadal said: “It’s not my goal.

“I want to keep fighting for the things that really make me feel alive, you know, for the things that motivate me.

“I prefer to be No.1 than be No.2, and I prefer to be No.2 than No.5 – that’s obvious.

“But my main goal is to stay healthy, stay happy and try to play as long as possible.”

Nadal cut short his return event, last week’s exhibition tournament Mubadala World Tennis Championship in UAE, to be fresh for the Australian summer.

And he couldn’t guarantee that he would play his opening Brisbane International clash on Thursday against France’s Jo-Wilfried Tsonga.

But Nadal rejected the notion his body was breaking down and insisted his best tennis still lay ahead.

“Injuries sometimes just happen,” he said.

“I really believe that I have a lot of tennis to play in my career, and I really feel that my body is not going worse every year.”