Confident Nadal eyes La Decima

RAFAEL NADAL rarely talks himself up, even when it comes to the Grand Slam event that he has dominated like no other player.

Yet as he faces the challenge of becoming the first man to win the same major for a staggering 10th time, he can hardly avoid exuding confidence.

With three clay-court titles under his belt this spring, and well rested after a tired-looking exit in Rome, he could hardly feel otherwise.

‘It’s true that since the beginning of the season I am happy the way that I played,’ he said ahead of the French Open. ‘I think I play well in almost every event that I was there.

‘I played well on hard. Then played great on clay, no? I’m happy about the events that I won, these have been very important for me.’

Nadal (right) left here in tears 12 months ago, pulling out of his thirdround match with wrist problems after making a promising start.

The subsequent truncating of his season has done wonders, and along with the absent Roger Federer he has proved a good advertisement for the restorative powers of a long break. Nadal could meet Novak Djokovic in the semis, providing the Serb continues his relative uplift of late under the watchful eye of Andre Agassi. There is already talk at Roland Garros of their potential meeting, which is contrast to how world No 1 Andy Murray’s prospects are viewed.

Murray, who lost to Djokovic in last year’s final, looked unhappy during his practice session on Friday, but seemed to be more in the groove yesterday playing against David Goffin of Belgium.

He is likely not to have to play until Tuesday against Russia’s Andrey Kuznetsov, who reached this week’s semi-finals of the Geneva Open.

The only British player in singles action today is Dan Evans, who will face Spanish veteran Tommy Robredo.