Rafael Nadal, injury free and back on his favourite clay surface, believes he is ‘ready to win titles’

Rafael Nadal of Spain celebrates his win over Philipp Kohlschreiber of Germany during the Miami Open at the Crandon Park Tennis Center on March 26, 2017 in Key Biscayne, Florida. Matthew Stockman / GeShow more

Next week in the principality of Monaco, the European clay-court season kicks into gear, and the main focus is on whether Rafael Nadal can build on a strong start to 2017 on what is traditionally his strongest surface.

The Monte Carlo Masters is the start of the action that leads up to the French Open, the second major of the season, which begins on May 22.

Nadal, who will be chasing a 10th title at Roland Garros, is back at the top of his game after a disappointing two years, which were limited by injury. Even Roger Federer, his arch-rival, is expecting the Spaniard to shine over the next two months.

“I’m sure you’re going to tear it to pieces over there,” Federer said in Miami earlier this month after defeating Nadal for a third time in 2017, and few would dare challenge his assessment.

True, Nadal has lost three finals in 2017 – the Australian Open, Acapulco and Miami – suggesting he is coming up short in the decisive moments. And yes, he has not played against Andy Murray and Novak Djokovic, the top two in the rankings, and for all his encouraging form has not actually won a title this year yet. But then, he has reached the final in three of his five tournaments, and he has made few better starts to a season.

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In 2016, Nadal had played six tournaments in the first three months of the season, two of them on clay, and Doha was his only final; he had lost in first round at the Australian Open and his opening match in Miami. Yet, he managed to win his first two tournaments on European clay – Monte Carlo and Barcelona – before a wrist injury forced him out of the French Open.

Nadal has not played on clay since, but for the first time in three seasons he will start the European clay-court season free of injury.

“Since the beginning of the year, everything has gone better than expected,” said Nadal, who started his season in late December by winning the Mubadala World Tennis Championship in Abu Dhabi as he returned from a three-month injury lay-off.

“I am very happy about the first part of the season on hard courts before the clay arrives. I won a lot of matches. I have a lot of points.”

In terms of points, Nadal is No 2 in the ATP’s Race to London with 2,235. At the same juncture 12 months ago, he was 14th with 800 points. Only twice before – in 2009 (3,525) and 2014 (2,595) – has Nadal has managed to earn more than 2,000 points in the first quarter of the season.

“I am still defending a lot of points on clay the next four tournaments, especially the first three ones, but I won a lot of points during the first part of the season, so that helps,” said Nadal, who will be defending a total of 2,040 points in Monte Carlo (1,000), Barcelona (500), Madrid (360) and Rome (180) before he launches his French Open challenge.

The way Nadal has started his season though, he will have few concerns about his performances in those four tournaments, especially since Djokovic and Murray are yet to find their best form this year, while Federer is sidestepping the clay season until the French Open. Nadal, on the other hand, has rediscovered his confidence and aggression, and, most importantly, his body is holding together.

“I am at a very high level of tennis and I believe I am ready to win titles,” he said in Miami. “I’m playing well enough to fight for everything I think. I have good hopes that I am going to be ready for Monte Carlo.

“Always when I am playing this well, on clay always helps a little bit more for me. So, I am very excited about playing on clay again.”

Given Nadal has won Monte Carlo nine times before, it is not hard to see why he is so optimistic.

The tennis world has witnessed some great storylines in 2017 – Federer winning his 18th grand slam after a wait of nearly five years; the Williams sisters squaring-off in a major final for the first time since Wimbledon 2009; Serena surpassing Steffi Graf’s haul of 22 grand slam titles. Nadal winning a 10th French Open, three years after winning his last, will keep the fairy-tale season going.

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