With 14 wins against 2, it should be cakewalk for Rafael Nadal when he faces Fernando Verdasco in the first round of the Bet-at-Home Open in Hamburg, Germany. Yet, the former no. 1 could still face a few problems given that their last two meetings went to his compatriot.

Like Us on Facebook

Nadal and Verdasco last met on clay at the Madrid Masters in 2012. That match took Verdasco three hours and 10 minutes to beat the then-reigning French Open Champion. This year, they met again at the hard courts of Miami and that match also went beyond the two-hour mark in favor of the 31-year-old from Madrid.

With Nadal recently hitting what seems to be a confidence crisis in his game, the tide could change and give Verdasco an easier time to take control of the game and edge the 14-time grand slam winner. Nadal, however, is rejuvenated and he's happy to be back in a tournament which he once dominated seven years ago.

"I am very happy to be back in Hamburg, I haven't been here since 2008 so it's great to be back in such a nice city. I have great memories about this tournament," Nadal said as reported by the ATP website. "I think probably defeating Carlos Moya in 2003 was a very important match for me at the time but also I remember very well the match against Novak in 2008 which was very emotional."

Nadal also said that he feels ready despite his recent fall at Wimbledon and a dismal 34-12 win-loss record so far this year.

"I feel good, there are no problems. I look forward to this week," said Nadal according to The Star. "I need to accept that it is a new situation and face it with a good attitude and keep working hard to return to a good level. I don't have any injuries and that is the important thing."

The Hamburg draw sees nine Spaniards including Tommy Robredo who is on the no. 2 spot, Roberto Bautista Agut at no. 3 and Guillermo Garcia-Lopez at 7. Nadal will also play doubles with young Majorcan Jaume Munar and both will face Simone Bolelli and Fabio Fognini in the opening round.

Tagsrafael nadal, Rafael Nadal news, ATP news, rafael nadal hamburg, rafael nadal germany, atp world news, tennis scores