Not too long ago, there was little surprise when Rafael Nadal sailed through any clay court event on the schedule. Behind him would lay a who’s who of competitors who met their fate against the Spaniard as he garnered title after title on the dirt. But during the last couple of seasons, he has appeared a mere mortal as unexpected losses became more frequent, forcing many to speculate whether he should still be considered the “King of Clay.”

During this time period, injuries began to rear their ugly head, and Nadal’s confidence began to wane on the surface. The very thought of this shocked many, who began to write off any chance that the 14-time major champion could ever return to the high level seen through most of his brilliant career. However, recently a switch was flipped, and the confident Nadal who once owned the surface slowly reappeared.

There may have been some glimpses of the “old Nadal” in clay events earlier in the season at Buenos Aires and Rio de Janeiro, but both of those tournaments ended with shocking thuds with losses to Dominic Thiem and Pablo Cuevas, respectively. Afterwards, questions arose as to the role that his level of competition played in any success he might have obtained. Then, after a semifinal run at Indian Wells, Nadal suffered another setback in Miami with a first-round loss to Damir Dzumhur when he was forced to retire in the third set.

Nevertheless, Nadal would follow the same path in which he has traveled so many times before, returning to the friendly confines of the red clay as preparation for Roland Garros began. And the glimpses shown earlier in the season suddenly grew to resemble those of the consistent Nadal whose exceptional striking on the surface has been second to none.

In Monte Carlo, Nadal would play inspired tennis en route to his ninth title at the Masters 1000 tournament. Historically, the event has been a strong bellwether for things to come, as Nadal took the championship eight consecutive times from 2005-2012. He would follow that result by earning titles at Roland Garros in nine out of 10 years from 2005-2014. But what was most impressive about his 2016 campaign was the level of competition that he plowed through.

The 29-year-old would exact revenge on world No. 14 Thiem, defeat defending Roland Garros champion Stan Wawrinka, outlast world No. 2 Andy Murray, and finally wear down Frenchman Gael Monfils in order to win the championship. And even more eye-opening for the competition was the confidence that he exuded as he dissected the court with precise angles from both his legendary forehand and his backhand side.

The only question that remains in the wake of the Monte Carlo title is in the form of rival Novak Djokovic. The world No. 1 stumbled in the round of 32 to Jiri Vesely, leaving many to ponder how the Spaniard might have fared against a player who has only lost two matches in 2016. The Serb owns a six-match winning streak against Nadal and has not lost to him since the Roland Garros final in 2014.

Nadal showed that he could compete with the best in the world during Monte Carlo. But with the French Open in the not so distant future, will he be capable of going through Djokovic to earn his 10th title there, if necessary? He owns a 15-6 head-to-head record on clay, but most of that transpired prior to the torrid pace that Djokovic is currently setting.

Many questions might very well be ironed out at the coming Madrid and Rome Masters 1000 events prior to the looming major in Paris. But Nadal certainly must be pleased about where he has taken his game recently. Amidst the suggestions of coaching changes and inquiries into his injury status, or simply whether he has become a player who is past his prime, Nadal has landed in familiar territory with another Masters championship on clay.

There is no secret to the Spaniard’s recent success. He has made his return by going back into the woodshed and grinding it out through hard work. That has been his method of operation throughout his historical career.  And now, the work appears to be paying off on his beloved clay surface once again.

This week, Nadal has followed his Masters title in Monte Carlo with another deep run in the Barcelona ATP 500 event. On Friday, he continued to impress with a straight-sets win over Fabio Fognini to advance to the semifinals. In that match, Nadal overcame a break deficit in the second set behind familiar quickness and effective groundstrokes to advance.

With recent success, Nadal has certainly been thrown into a contender role at Roland Garros. As he looks to the weeks ahead, he hopes his revival continues as all roads lead to Paris.