(photo: tennisflash)

Nothing has been going Rafael Nadal’s way of late. Despite a second-rate hard-court season, the Spanish ace was expected to up the ante on his favorite surface, clay. However, the ‘King of Clay’ has failed to live up to the expectations – at least thus far!

A loss to World No. 1 Novak Djokovic in the semifinals of the Monte Carlo Masters, followed by an untimely exit at the Barcelona Open (lost to Fabio Fognini) meant that the Spaniard plunges to No. 4 in the men’s singles rankings, below all of his ‘Big 4’ counterparts.

However, Nadal insists that there is nothing to fright about as it is all a part of sport.

“I’m not worried. It’s part of the sport,” an optimist Nadal was quoted as per saying by the official ATP website.  “Sometimes perhaps with longer injuries I managed to stay up in the (rankings) because I came back and I managed to win a lot of times. This time I haven’t been able to do that.”

Nadal is currently featuring at the Mutua Madrid Open, where he will be hoping for a turnaround in his fortunes ahead of the French Open.