Hold tight because this is one of the oddest things you are likely to have seen this year. Rafael Nadal makes his return to competitive tennis this week for the first time since withdrawing from the Australian Open quarter-final against Marin Cilic through injury.
He has begun his fight back to reclaim the world number one spot from Roger Federer with a very strange appearance in Mexico with Spongebob SquarePants and his mate Patrick. The warm-up event was part of Kids Day at the Mexico Open where players on the court were greeted by popular children’s characters.
Nadal will be keen to win the event to boost his points score in the world rankings after Roger Federer leapfrogged him into first place. Wins at the Australian Open and in Rotterdam saw Federer top the charts once again.
But Nadal is not putting pressure on himself ahead of the tournament. "I do not think or feel like a favourite to win the tournament, I do not have that inner pressure," Nadal said.
"I come to play. I have trained three hours daily. I’ll try my best. Sometimes things go right or wrong and one must go prepared to accept both things, but at this point there is no pressure, but the personal demand to do things well."
The Spaniards have always performed well in Mexico but Nadal has not won it since 2013, the last year the event was played on a clay court. The event is now held on a hard court whilst last year he lost the final to Sam Querrey.
