Rafael Nadal News: Spaniard starts preparation for Indian Wells

Rafael Nadal has started his preparation at Indian Wells in California, where the "King of Clay" bids for his first ATP World Tour title of the season.

Nadal hopes to end his losing-streak this year when he competes at the BNB Paribas Open Indian Wells on Mar. 10 against the top tennis players in the world. The 29-year-old Spaniard began his training for the tournament in Cozumel, Mexico, a routine Nadal has been doing in three years after competing at the Rio Open.

The 14-time Grand Slam winner has never a won a title this season and is seemingly back to struggling on the hard court. After opening his 2016 season at the Australian Open with a first round loss against Fernando Verdasco, the 29-year-old suffered consecutive losses in the semifinal rounds of the Argentina Open and Rio Open against Dominic Thiem and Pablo Cuevas, respectively.

According to his uncle and coach Toni, the Mallorcan is doing well physically, but admitted lacks in "confidence and tranquility" in his game.

"Every time that you do not win you have less confidence, and when you lose confidence and tranquility, you play under tension every time, on the break points as well," Toni told Spanish media outlet AS as translated by Vavel.

"And the forehand, that is the biggest strength in Rafa's game, does not hurt like it usually did, it does not go like before."

At Indian Wells, Nadal will bid for a fourth title at the tournament, but is likely to have a difficult campaign as he faces the likes of Novak Djokovic, Andy Murray and Stan Wawrinka, who just recently won the Dubai Tennis Championships.

Nadal's last win at the tournament came in 2013, when he defeated Argentina's Juan Martin del Potro in three sets. Last year, he only reached the round of 32 after losing to Ukraine's Alexandr Dolgopolov.

Meanwhile, this year's Indian Wells will not feature world No. 3 Roger Federer due to the timetable of the Swiss Maestro's return.

The 17-time Grand Slam champ is currently recovering from a knee surgery that repaired a torn left meniscus and was expected to participate at Indian Wells. However, the Swiss has decided to move his return to tennis action and will instead bid for a comeback at the Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters in France.