World No.5 Rafael Nadal has been playing some fantastic tennis since his return, reaching the finals of all 6 tournaments he has featured in and winning 4 of them. His latest triumph came at the Barcelona Open where he crushed fellow Spaniard Nicolas Almagro in straight sets. His next stop is at the Mutua Madrid Open in Madrid, a tournament the Spaniard has won twice. “I’m very happy for my victory in Barcelona. Now I have to start thinking about the Madrid Masters 1000,” Nadal posted on his Facebook page.

With the Madrid Open being played on blue clay last year, Nadal made an unceremonious exit in the Second Round to countryman Fernando Verdasco in the Third Round. Though Nadal loves to play in Spain he was really disappointed with the Tournament Director’s decision to switch the event to blue clay that he threatened to boycott the event till it was being held on blue clay.

A number of players showed dissent to the switch and requested the ATP and the Director to switch back to the traditional red clay. With the tournament again being played on red clay, Nadal would be a front runner for the title but would get some stiff competition from the likes of Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer and Andy Murray.