Rafael Nadal prepares for Wimbledon defence

World number one and top seed at Wimbledon Rafael Nadal has taken a rather unusual step in his preparations for the prestigious grass court event at the All England Tennis Club this week – by practicing on his favoured surface of clay.

After his defeat at the Queen’s club, a traditional warm up for the grass court slam, he spent some time back in Spain, relaxing and unwinding with his family before returning to England to defend his title.

His rival Novak Dkokovic underwent a similar preparatory period after withdrawing from the Queen’s tournament altogether, and the Spaniard will be relieved to have been allowed time to relax and recharge his batteries as he looks forward to competing at the venue which saw him slug it out with Roger Federer in a gruelling four hour and forty-eight minute final back in 2008. Those looking to bet on Wimbledon should expect a well-rested Nadal.

If Nadal manages to defend his title this year, he will claim the 11th Grand Slam title of his career and will be within touching distance of both Federer’s and Sampras’ records of six and seven Wimbledon titles respectively.

But on Tuesday, Nadal was seen training at a tennis club in his hometown of Manacor in Spain having chosen to continue his preparations for the upcoming event on the more familiar clay-courts of his hometown – an odd move in a time when you would expect him to be trying to acclimatise to the faster grass surface. Anyone following the Wimbledon tennis betting may raise an eyebrow at this.

However, he may feel that after his victory at the French Open his game is best served by sticking to what he knows best rather than trying to change a winning formula. He is currently the holder of the US Open, French Open and Wimbledon, with the Australian Open – held by Djokovic – the only grand slam currently out of his grasp.

Nadal is currently enjoying a 14-match winning streak at Wimbledon so he certainly knows what he’s doing when it comes to competing at the All England Club, and having reached the final in the last four seasons he has entered the event.