Fourteen-time grand slam champion Rafael Nadal has had a tough first half of the season. However, Nadal aims to get back into his old winning ways.

Following his shocking second-round exit at the Wimbledon Championships, Nadal chose to take part at the Bet-at-Home tournament in Hamburg, Germany. Nadal, known as King of Clay, is confident that he will be able to recover from an unsatisfactory season and shaking self-esteem by taking on the Bet-at-Home Open, which has been shifted into an Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) World Tour 500 event played on clay courts from 2009 up to the present time. Although Nadal has been unproductive to claim a title during the European clay season, one of his two ATP World Tour 250 titles came on clay at the Argentina Open earlier this year, he is optimistic that he can claim another one before he starts his campaign for the hard court season.

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Speaking prior his first round match against fellow compatriot Fernando Verdasco at the Bet-at-Home Open via Tennis-x.com, Nadal revealed that it has been hard to lose in tournaments, but he is working towards getting back to the top of men's game. He acknowledged that it has not been easy for him to go through losses more than he was accustomed to in the last 11 years, but he knows that he must move on.

"I just accept the new situations with the right attitude and keep working to try to be at a good level again, it's been a tough one, obviously, but life continues," Nadal said.

Nadal returns to Hamburg after seven years. He made it in the final in 2007, but 17-time grand slam Swiss tennis ace Roger Federer beat him in three sets 2-6 6-2 6-0. The two clashed again for the second consecutive time the following year in 2008. It was the last time that Nadal played in the Hamburg and he bounced back from the loss and defeated Federer also in three sets 7-5 6-7(3-7) 6-3.

Nadal is awarded a wild card entry and seeded first in Hamburg. The other top seeds are 2006 champion Tommy Robredo, and Roberto Bautista Agut. Reigning champion Leonardo Mayer opted not to play to defend his title in Hamburg. This year marks the fourth time that the Spanish tennis ace will be playing in the tournament. It is Nadal's first tournament since losing to German Dustin Brown in the second round of the Wimbledon Championships.

Should a win in Hamburg be enough for Nadal to boost his self-confidence as he continues his quest to win his 15^th major title at Flushing Meadows in August? Nadal is 34-12 this season. He has dropped to the 10^th place in the latest ATP world rankings.

Tagsrafa, Nadal, bet-at-home open, hamburg, tournament, federer