Rafael Nadal: My confidence is back despite recent clay struggles

ATP Tour
Rafael Nadal practice

Rafael Nadal says that his confidence has returned ahead of the Madrid Masters despite uncharacteristic recent struggles on clay.

Nadal lost to Fabio Fognini the the Monte-Carlo Masters before falling to Dominic Thiem at the same stage in Barcelona, prompting suggestions that he is losing his edge on his favoured surface.

However, he says that couldn’t be further from the truth, and those defeats were just natural, and helpful, parts of his recovery from injury.

“My confidence is back, I really believe that I made very good improvements to create a good base to try to achieve my goals during the next couple of weeks,” Nadal said.

“Against Thiem, I played a good match. I was competitive and I enjoyed the match.

“I really felt competitive for the first time in a way that I want to feel myself. I am happy and I am confident that I made a big improvement.”

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