Since winning his ninth title at Roland Garros last season, Rafael Nadal has struggled to return to his peak form due to injury and late-season appendix surgery. While the remainder of the ‘Big Four’ made news competing while working with high-profile coaches, Nadal missed a number of tournaments and returned to the practice courts to rehab in hopes of a return to the level he is accustomed. Now, after substandard results at his last two major tournaments, Nadal has returned to the friendly confines of Rio de Janeiro and the red clay in hopes of turning his fortunes around.

While other top players have experimented with coaching and strategy changes, Nadal has proven there are other paths to a winning formula. Coached by his uncle Toni Nadal for years, the Spaniard has earned his success through blood, sweat, and tears in a practice regiment that assures he enters a tournament prepared and with the best chance to wear down his opponent. Few could avoid injury given the wear and tear that his body endures by virtue of his extreme strikes, but Nadal has combated this through preparation as a result of his notoriously intense training.

Now, a healthy Nadal enters the Rio Open in hopes that this preparedness will set him on his way back to world No. 1. Stating that he no longer faces “physical problems,” the 28-year-old veteran acknowledged that he needs matches under his belt to fully return to his peak. In 2014, Nadal returned to action in Rio after an injury that hampered his efforts at the Australian Open. He would quickly serve notice that he was on his way back, earning a title there. After competing in the Indian Wells and Miami Masters on hard courts, he rounded into form later in the spring on clay with a championship at the Madrid Masters before falling to Novak Djokovic in the Rome Masters final. He would soon exact revenge on the Serb in the final at Roland Garros.

The “King of Clay” used the upcoming sweet spot on the schedule to rebound last season. However, a wrist injury would derail a large portion of his year afterwards as he missed over three months of play following Wimbledon. He will look to avoid this fate and maintain his health throughout this season.

Although there is plenty of hard-court tennis to be played before the next major, Nadal is ready to begin the clay season, where he has historically been dominant.  And although he maintains a degree of skepticism as to his chances to win a title this week, he is happy to return to the courts, stating that he hopes “to be competitive, to have good chances and after that we'll see what's going on.”

Nadal owns an impressive 318-24 record on clay, racking up 45 titles on the surface. After an eight-month period where his best result in a tournament is a quarterfinal appearance, a return the surface cannot come fast enough for the Spaniard.

If history is any indicator, overlooking the veteran may likely prove to be a mistake. Rewind the calendar to 2012, when Nadal was forced to shut his game down in June before returning in February 2013. Upon his return, he would promptly win five titles on clay, including the Madrid and Rome Masters, as well as the ATP 500 events in Barcelona and Acapulco, before capturing another title at Roland Garros. And just for good measure, Nadal would win at Indian Wells during that spring as well. It was a four-month period where he would advance to the final in every tournament entered, accumulating a massive 44-2 record with a lion’s share of that earned on clay.

Perhaps duplicating his run in 2013 is an unreasonable expectation, but having knowledge of this period of time could serve as a motivational tool with the calendar now firmly in February and clay season ahead. Still in his prime, with a healthy prognosis in front of him and an unrivalled work ethic, there is reason for optimism for Nadal. The week ahead could serve as a litmus test as to where he stands in his comeback.