Rafael Nadal will be bidding to make more clay history when the World No 1 bids for an unprecedented seventh consecutive title as the Monte Carlo Masters begins on Sunday
Rafael Nadal will be bidding to make more clay history when the World No 1 bids for an unprecedented seventh consecutive title as the Monte Carlo Masters begins on Sunday.
The Spaniard is coming off a pair of Masters 1000 losses in American hardcourt finals at Indian Wells and Miami to Novak Djokovic, who withdrew from the high-profile start of the European dirt season as a precaution to rest a knee injury. Also out with a similar problem is Swede Robin Soderling, finalist at the last two editions of Roland Garros.
Nadal has continued Spanish domination at the Country Club overlooking the Mediterranean, where he and compatriot Juan Carlos Ferrero have claimed eight of the last nine titles, with only Argentine Guilermo Coria in 2004 breaking the Iberian spell. But Nadal has a huge job ahead as he tries to duplicate computer points accumulated during a 2010 win followed by Madrid, Rome, the French Open and Wimbledon.
Despite not winning a title since last October in Tokyo, the 24-year-old is confident. "It's difficult to imagine two years in a row (like that)," he said of his 2010 success. "But I'm seriously happy about how I'm playing, happy about my level. Hopefully I'm going to be playing well this tournament. I'll try my best in Monte Carlo, the first tournament of clay is always important."
