By Chris Oddo | Friday, May 23, 2014

 

Rafael Nadal doesn't need revenge to motivate him--he's just fired up to play at Roland Garros--but if he did he's got the perfect draw for it.

Photo Source: AFP

Rafael Nadal could have to avenge each and every one of his three clay court losses in 2014 if he’s to win a record ninth Roland Garros title in Paris in two week’s time.

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Knowing Nadal, he wouldn’t want it any other way.

The 27-year-old has suffered his roughest Roland Garros warmup since 2003, losing shockers to Nicolas Almagro and David Ferrer on back-to-back black Fridays in April, before being ousted by his archrival Novak Djokovic in the Rome final last Sunday.

But the chance for revenge has presented itself. Nadal finds himself in the same quarter as Almagro and Ferrer at Roland Garros, and he could face his two fellow Spaniards in the round of 16 and quarterfinals, respectively.

The eight-time Roland Garros champion may not be thrilled about how things went against Almagro and Ferrer in April, but the king of clay is ready to put it all behind him as the French Open approaches.

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“Not that happy about what I did in Monte Carlo and Barcelona, but that's the sport,” Nadal told reporters on Friday after the draw had been revealed. “Rome, Monte Carlo, Madrid, Barcelona is past now. We are here in Roland Garros, and the only thing that matters now is have a good practice when I will be able to finish with the press. I will practice today, will practice tomorrow, good practice on Sunday, and try to be ready for the competition, no?”

Nadal certainly hasn’t lacked for matches—he played 14 sets in Rome alone—and he’s hoping that he’ll benefit from all those reps when 2014’s second Grand Slam gets underway.

“The dynamic is positive, is true, so that's always important for the confidence,” he said. “I felt that in Rome I was able to play with not that nerves, that anxiety that I played in the first two tournaments and some moments in Madrid, too. So that's always a positive thing, but now is very important tournament for me.

At the end is another tournament, no? And just happy to be here in Roland Garros. Happy to fight for the challenge to play well again here.”

There is certainly a lot on the line for Nadal in Paris. He could become the first player to win five Roland Garros titles in succession as well as becoming the third player to reach 14 Grand Slam titles. He also finds himself in a heated battle with Novak Djokovic for the top spot in the ATP rankings. But as usual, Nadal has something more spiritual on his mind than mere numbers or milestones. For the Spaniard, the chance to play at the holy grail of clay-court tennis means another opportunity to compete with the best in the hopes that he’ll prove, once again, that he’s the best to ever step foot on a clay court.

“Is always a big emotion have the chance to play here in Roland Garros,” Nadal said. “For me, as I said before, this place is the most important place in my career. Just always very emotional when I have the chance to be back here and always going to be a great news when I will be in Paris to play Roland Garros. Very excited.”