Rafael Nadal defeated Kei Nishikori in straight sets, earlier this week, to register an impressive 396th career victory on clay. Nadal boasts an unparalleled 91.9% win rate on clay courts. The Spaniard, who took a break from tennis after his Australian Open loss to Marin Cilic, looks to be in sublime form, ahead of his title defense in Paris. However, Nadal mentioned that he is now trying to enjoy his time on and off the court, rather than just focusing entirely on his career.

“For me, tennis is a very important part of my life, of course, but not everything. Never have been everything for me. In life I enjoy. The value of other things outside of tennis are so important for me, too”, said Nadal. “I going to try to keep being healthy and happy playing tennis, enjoying the life outside of tennis, too”, he added.

Nadal will feature again this week as he prepares to grab yet another title in Barcelona. The Spaniard has won a record number of ten titles here in Barcelona. However, he is not taking anything for granted, and does not underestimate the competition at the 500 points event. “Next week is another week that I have a tough draw in Barcelona. But tomorrow I need to start being focused on the next week”, said the Spaniard.

He also added, “Is not the moment to stop and to disconnect your mind. Is the moment to stay focused and to keep holding that momentum that is good one after winning seven matches in a row on clay now, this year. That’s a positive thing. The way that I won the matches are very positive. So is the moment to keep going, and that’s my goal.”

With Roger Federer skipping the entire clay court swing, Rafa has an opportunity to increase the gap between the two, as he tries to defend more than 4000 points during the clay court swing.