Madrid Open: Rafael Nadal Pleased With Comeback After Hip Injury

World No. 1 Rafael Nadal is happy with his performances since returning from a hip injury he suffered at the Australian Open in January earlier this year.

Nadal returned to action in Melbourne at the start of the year after a knee injury ended his 2017 season at the ATP Finals. However, he withdrew in the fifth set of his quarterfinal clash with Marin Cilic due to a hip problem.

He was expected to return at the Mexican Open in February but withdrew on the day of his opening match due to a recurrence of the injury suffered in training.

After finally returning at the Davis Cup last month where he helped Spain advance to the semifinals following two singles wins, the Spaniard returned to competitive action at the Monte-Carlo Masters as he went on to defeat Kei Nishikori in the final to win his first title of the year.

Nadal followed it up with victory in Barcelona as well and is now hoping to retain his Madrid Open crown, having defeated Gael Monfils in his opening match Wednesday as his clay dominance looks set to continue.

With a 6-3, 6-1 win over the Frenchman, Nadal notably extended his own record of 48 consecutive sets won on clay and could break the record of 49 sets achieved by John McEnroe on the now-discontinued carpet surface if he beats Diego Schwartzman on Thursday.

But the 31-year-old is more focused on remaining healthy as he spoke about his displays since making his comeback.

"What I am most pleased with is I am recovered from my injury," Nadal said, as per Express. "That makes me feel strong and [I] go on court with confidence [knowing] that I can [compete in] tough matches."

"That's important for me especially on this surface. I [have done] a lot of things well since I came back. I play with the right intensity, the right focus all the time. My backhand is working great. The forehand working well, too, as always, more or less. But the backhand is a shot that is working well."

Nadal's sentiments were echoed by his coach Carlos Moya, who recently claimed his health was more important than retaining his spot atop the rankings.

"In any case, the No 1 is a consequence of the day to day, of training and playing well, of being healthy, of resting," Moya said during the Barcelona Open. "We give much more importance to that."

Nadal is currently defending 1,000 points in Madrid and could extend his 100-point lead over Roger Federer if he progresses further than the quarterfinals of the Italian Open, which commences from May 14-22 in Rome.

However, the 16-time Grand Slam champion must retain his titles in Madrid and the French Open if he wants to remain atop the rankings come the end of the clay season.