Nadal claims he's getting closer to the `level he wants to reach` ahead of Argentine Open

Spanish tennis ace Rafael Nadal has claimed that he is getting closer to the level he wants to reach ahead of the Argentine Open at Buenos Aires this week, following his upset defeat in the Rio Open semifinals at the weekend.

Nadal, who slipped to the fourth rank following Saturday's loss to Fabio Fognini, ended a run of 52 consecutive semifinal wins on clay and would make his bow in the second round of the Argentine Open at the Buenos Aires Lawn Tennis Club on Wednesday.

Nadal claimed that he has come here with a different motivation because he has had a spell that wasn't good for him because for the last seven months he has been fairly inactive and had complications, Sport24 reported.

Nadal claimed that he is closer to the level he wants to reach which is why he feels that he is taking little steps forward and that's good. He added that recovery is like a ladder, which one doesn't climb while running but rather step by step.

Nadal, back at the tournament in Buenos Aires 10 years after his first visit, lost the number one ranking to Novak Djokovic last year after struggling with a right wrist injury.

And having won his ninth French Open title in June, Nadal withdrew from the U.S. Open in August due to the injury and lost to Tomas Berdych in the Australian Open quarterfinals last month, the report added.