Rafael Nadal: Will clay save him?

But following an upset loss to Fernando Verdasco at the Miami Open last month, Rafael Nadal -- who fell to his Spanish compatriot for the second time in a row after beating him on 13 successive occasions -- conceded something was awry. "My game in general improved since a month and a half," he told reporters. "But at the same time, still playing with too much nerves for a lot of moments, in important moments, still playing with a little bit of (anxiousness) on those moments." Now working in his favor, though, is the tennis circuit switching from hard courts to red clay, beginning with the traditional European curtain raiser in Monte Carlo, CNN reports. Will the clay cure Rafa's ills? It's one of five pressing questions as the clay-court swing -- which ends with the French Open -- got underway. Will Rafa find form? Injuries have been a mainstay in Nadal's career, that we know. But the knees weren't the issue in 2014. Rather, he skipped the U.S. Open with a wrist complaint and dealt with a back problem that most notably hampered him in the Australian Open final. If that wasn't enough, he came down with appendicitis in the fall. The lack of match action seemed to catch up with the 28-year-old at this year's Australian Open -- he lost to Tomas Berdych, who he had beaten 17 straight times -- and even at a small clay-court tournament in Buenos Aires in February, Nadal wasn't at his best, despite winning. Then came a first reverse to Milos Raonic in Indian Wells and the defeat to Verdasco. No wonder Nadal told Spanish television last week: "It's a clay court season where perhaps I am arriving in the worst form of my career." The clay, though, and particularly the French Open, have always seemed to be the perfect tonic for Nadal. Take last year as an example. It was the first time in his career that Nadal hadn't claimed at least two European clay-court titles heading into Roland Garros -- and the one he did win, in Madrid, came courtesy of a retirement. Kei Nishikori was having the better of the finale before a back injury took its toll. But Nadal proceeded to march to the French Open final, dropping one set, and ousted Novak Djokovic for a ninth crown in southwest Paris. Should he repeat at the French, he'll become the first player in the Open Era to bag any major 10 times. Read more