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Nadal aims to learn lesson from Ljubicic loss

Rafael Nadal took his defeat to Ivan Ljubicic with good grace © Getty Images

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Rafael Nadal is planning to use his defeat to Ivan Ljubicic as a learning curve and feels his game is close to where he wants it to be ahead of the start of the clay court season.

Nadal made a sparkling return to action at Indian Wells following two months on the sidelines, as the Spaniard produced some excellent tennis before falling to a surprise defeat to eventual champion Ljubicic in the semi-finals.

It was a rare sight in the semi-final: Nadal seemingly suffering a breakdown at a vital time in a match. He was in total command but failed to convert a host of break points in the second set and was ultimately beaten in a third-set tie-break - a breaker he played surprisingly tentatively.

Nadal admits he will learn plenty from his defeat, but feels his game is close to peak levels. "When I am playing well, it is because my forehand is working and I have control of the point, that's what I am doing now and doing it really well," Nadal, who eased the pain of defeat by winning the doubles with Marc Lopez, said. "My aim in Miami is to play better with the backhand because if I improve that, I am ready for anything, I think."

Reflecting on his capitulation to Ljubicic, Nadal said: "It was an accident. But it was an important accident, so I have to learn from it. I wasn't passive, I was more nervous than passive.

"It was tough for me to be in that situation because I had been playing amazing all week, but this was a bad match. The first game of the third set was a terrible one for me. I made more mistakes on my forehand in that game than I had all week."

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