Rafael Nadal has been training at a high intensity for days. The Spaniard is hitting strong and powerful in sunny Manacor in front of many fans on the grounds in his academy. He is motivated as ever to compete again after playing just one tournament this year, the Australian Open.

He has been named for the Davis Cup tie against Germany that takes place in a week. He made this choice for the love towards his country and the team event, not necessarily for his ATP Tour activity that will begin at the Monte Carlo Masters in mid-April.

'The Davis Cup is an important competition, not a preparation for another thing,' Nadal told IB3 TV in a brief interview on Thursday. 'Let's see how it goes day after day, if I will be doing well tennis-wise and physically, I will try to help the team to win the tie.' The 31-year-old also said: 'I am aware that I haven't finished any of the tournaments I haven't played.

The wish is to return, obviously being cautious. I had a complicated few months, unexpected things happened, I needed to be patient, take a rest without doing anything, but now I feel that I am working at a good level and trying to increase it each passing day. I am motivated to start again.'