Rafael Nadal has reached both finals of the VTR Open in Chile, a perfect return to tournament tennis for the Spaniard. It's Nadal's first tournament since recovering from left-knee injury which sidelined him for seven months and a stomach virus.
Nadal is getting ready for Roland Garros
Nadal defeated Jeremy Chardy of France in Saturday's singles semifinal 6-2, 6-2. Nadal and Juan Monaco won their doubles semifinal on Friday, meaning Nadal is scheduled to play twice on Sunday.
Nadal will face Argentine Horacio Zeballos in the singles final, and Nadal and Monaco play Italy's Paolo Lorenzi and Potito Starace in doubles.
He has slipped to No. 5 on the rankings due to injury
The former No. 1 has played six matches in five days and has not dropped a set.
The 26-year-old Spaniard plays another clay-court event next week in Sao Paulo, and plays later in the month in Acapulco, Mexico — all aimed at getting ready for France. Earlier this week he was he was "light years" away from being ready for Roland Garros.
Nadal has slipped to No. 5 in the ranking, but he will fall further in the coming weeks because he missed so many events and not accumulated ranking points.
"The ranking reflects your level for a whole year, and I was out seven months. If I can recover the level I had before I was hurt last year in June, by December I'll be back up there — if the physical side, the knee responds."
