Rafael Nadal thinks he's slowly regaining his old, dominant form after he punched his way to the championship match with a 7-6, 6-1 win over Tomas Berdych in the semis of the Madrid Masters.
Nadal, who got the better of Berdych in a heavily-contested first set before blowing out the Czech in the second frame, believed the tournament has brought only positive results to him, as he tries to recover from the worst start in his professional tennis career.
"Today I played again at a very good level. I did yesterday; today I played at a very, very high level. Nadal told reporters following his 18th career win over Berdych via ATP News. Let's see tomorrow if I am able to continue with that positive feeling. This week has been fantastic for me."
"This is a very important result, and that's confidence, that's positive energy. That's calm, too. Let's try to continue tomorrow and try to continue with that good feeling next week. I worked a lot to have that feeling, and today I had that feeling that I've been trying to find for a while."
With Roger Federer booted out early and Novak Djokovic taking an off in this tournament, Nadal has an opportunity to build his momentum and regain his confidence by winning his final showdown with Andy Murray on Sunday.
The Briton reached the Madrid Open final for the first time since it turned into an outdoor clay tournament after besting Japanese rising star Kei Nishikori 6-3, 6-4. Murray hasn't been known in his career as a clay-court expert, but he's nevertheless expected to give Nadal a run for his money in a very interesting clash.
