Nadal's confidence grows on grass

World number two Rafael Nadal admits he is becoming more confident on grass as he gears up for the Artois Championships and Wimbledon.

The Spaniard, who turns 21 later this week, is best known for his exploits on clay where his record-breaking streak of 81 consecutive victories was only brought to an end by Roger Federer last week.

The Mallorca-born player has already claimed two consecutive French Open titles - the latter of which he is currently defending.

However, Nadal’s success is not solely restricted to that particular surface and he demonstrated his versatility last year when he reached the quarter-finals of the Artois Championships at the Queen’s Club before retiring hurt against eventual champion Lleyton Hewitt.

Nadal then made the final of Wimbledon where he was beaten by world number one Federer.

Now, he is set to return to the capital for the start of the Artois event on June 11 and admits he is growing in confidence ahead of the grass-court season.

Talking on a podcast on the official website, www.artoischampionships.com, Nadal said: “It’s very close. It’s difficult to adapt at Queen’s but I always try my best.

“Last year I played a good tournament. I made the quarter-finals before having to retire. It’s always been a big motivation to come back to the grass.

“After the final of Roland Garros I practised for one and a half hours on grass the next day because I wanted to keep my performance (level).”

Nadal admitted his success at Wimbledon had given him more assurance on grass.

“I was in the final of Wimbledon and it is very good for the confidence for this year.

“Every year is different and every year is difficult but it is important for me to know I can play well on grass.”

He pinpointed the differences needed to succeed on grass as opposed to clay, saying: “You need to change a lot of things – the style of the shot, you can’t play with the same topspin, you need to play more aggressive and inside the court.

“So everything changes.”