Rafael Nadal was recently spotted in an airport in Mallorca with his tennis bags bound for Hamburg. Though he is scheduled to play at the Rogers Cup in Montreal in preparation for the US Open, the Spaniard will not be hitting forehands on hardcourts anytime soon. Next week, he will be in Germany for the Bet-At-Home Open German Tennis Championships as confirmed by tournament director Michael Stich.

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The question on everybody's mind is, why is Nadal getting back on clay given that the clay court season is officially over? The Bleacher Report recently published a comprehensive account of the possibilities. One is, the 29-year-old may be looking for some sort of motivation, and who can blame him?

This year, Nadal has only won 2 titles so far. He failed to defend his French Open crown and was beaten by a low-ranked player in the second round at Wimbledon. Since clay gives him the opportunity to be unstoppable, he could come up with his best tennis and give himself the push needed before heading to the hardcourts of North America.

Another notion raised concerns the tournament points Nadal needs to get a good seeding at the US Open. He is the first seed in Hamburg and he'll be facing a slew of players outside the Top 20 so it could mean easy points for Nadal should he sweep the rounds.

But if he really is after the points, why choose Hamburg over Washington which is also a Level 500 event and a better advantage for the hardcourt season? Nadal knows that his chances of winning are higher when he is in his best surface - clay. If he goes on to play Washington before the Rogers Cup and loses, his summer may be over before he even knows it.

Fans could only hope and wish for Nadal to come through and be on top of the world once again. After all, he has a big chance of pulling it off; he has the shots and knows how to win on big occasions. But he is a different player now even if the fighting spirit remains. Moreover, it's difficult to make early predictions and speculate on the future of this former no. 1.

For now, let's just see how Hamburg goes.

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