Nadal eager to shake off recent defeats and play in Madrid

Rafael Nadal says he will go into the Madrid Masters with a lot more confidence than his first two clay events of the season.

Though he fell in the semifinals at both Monte Carlo and Barcelona, Nadal was positive about his improvement since returning from a knee injury at Indian Wells.

"It was the first day where I felt capable of competing at the highest level, the level that is required to achieve my goals," he told press in Spanish following his defeat to Dominic Thiem in the Barcelona semifinals. "What happened at Indian Wells, it was a mental blow. A week ago, I'd still not 100 percent recovered, nor at the beginning of this week, but that is done and the feeling is now completely different."

Nadal had described his defeat to Fabio Fognini at Monte Carlo as one of his "worst matches on clay in 14 years," but said his level of play against Thiem was much higher.

"There are defeats that can help you, and [this] was one of them," he suggested. "It's been a while since I played on clay, this was my best match of the year on this surface.

"The important thing is I've become competitive again, and from now I expect to be even more."

While Nadal has regularly dominated the clay season, winning Monte Carlo, Barcelona and the French Open 11 times, he has been less successful in the high altitude of Madrid. But according to the 32-year-old, his mentality will still be better than the previous two weeks.

"I know Madrid will be complicated because of the conditions, but the perspective is completely different," he said. "I have the desire to compete again. If I am at the highest level, I am capable of aiming for everything."

Nadal is still No. 2 in the rankings.