While his ranking has dropped to No. 5, Rafael Nadal is back at work training to regain his form—and create a rankings rise—during the spring clay-court season.
The eight-time Monte Carlo champion owns an astounding 50-3 record at the Monte Carlo Masters where he will try to jump-start his season next week.
More: Nadal Drops to No. 5 in the Rankings
Nadal failed to convert three match points bowing to Milos Raonic in the Indian Wells quarterfinals before suffering a surprising third-round Miami loss to 34th-ranked compatriot Fernando Verdasco.
Resuming training on his favored red clay, Nadal should be seeded third in Monte Carlo as neither third-ranked Andy Murray, who is getting married in Scotland on Saturday, nor fourth-ranked Kei Nishikori have entered the season's first clay-court Masters event.
Nadal is playing for his first Masters crown since he defeated Nishikori to win Madrid last May.
After Monte Carlo, Nadal is scheduled to play Barcelona, which tweeted this image of a young Rafa, in his pre-headband days.