World no. 4 Rafael Nadal has missed the last 45 days of ATP Tour action due to a stress fracture in his rib, which occurred during the semifinals at Indian Wells. In his return at the Madrid Open, the Spaniard defeated Miomir Kecmanovic in two sets to reach the third round. Following the victory, Nadal spoke to reporters and gave a blunt assessment of his post-injury form, as reported by ESPN.

“My preparation has not existed. You cannot expect great things at the beginning,” he said. “In general I have done a good match. First set was very good. The second set I don't consider it a bad set, but as I am saying, when you have been a long time without competing, it's normal that you have up-and-downs in a match because you have to recover your routine.”

Nadal, whose preparation time was limited by the injury, said that “you cannot expect great things at the beginning”, noting that it takes some time for players to find their form upon returning from an absence.

The Spaniard is looking to win his sixth Madrid Open title, which would pull him even with Novak Djokovic for the most Masters 1000 tournaments.

With the French Open set to begin later in May, Nadal won't have a ton of time to prepare for the tournament that he has dominated in his career, winning a record 13 titles.

However, the great champions like Nadal have a habit of figuring these kinds of things out.