Rafael Nadal reflects on his year and the battle with Roger Federer for the World No 1 ranking

Rafael Nadal has reflected on what has been a very successful year so far following the lows of an injury-ridden 2016.

The Spaniard reached the final of the Australian Open only to lose in a five-set thriller to the eventual winner Roger Federer.

However, Nadal's dominance began when the clay-court season commenced, winning titles in Monte-Carlo, Barcelona and Madrid.

But it was in Paris that he reached the high point of his career, winning an unprecedented 10th title at Roland Garros and making history by becoming the first tennis player to win a single Grand Slam 10 times.

The French Open victory was also his first major title since 2014 and Nadal credits his return to form to his ambition as well as a healthy body.

"The first thing is to maintain your ambition to do so, that's the key," Nadal told Sport360. "Also my body, for a few months now, has been (cooperating), without that, it would have been practically impossible (to compete at a high level)."

"And the truth is, last year I was at a high level before I got injured. I was in a position to go to Roland Garros and try and win it. I'm not saying I would have won it, but I was ready to compete to win it, but it wasn't meant to be. 2015 was a tough year mentally but after that I believed I could recover my level."

Nadal's performances have seen him climb back to world number two as the 31-year-old is a favourite to reclaim his number one ranking. His competition is world number three Federer, who himself has had a career resurgence, having won two Grand Slams so far.

"The truth is, I always follow my own path," Nadal added. "It's true that we (Roger and I) are better prepared to compete for nice things at the end of the year but it depends on what we're able to do from now until the end of the year. We'll have to wait and see."

"The person who will be able to keep his high level for a longer period of time will have more options to fight for the world No 1 ranking. But the same can be said of (Andy) Murray or (Novak) Djokovic and many others who are up there. Maybe they haven't had the best six months this year but they are also candidates."