A decade after his first career hard-court title in Montreal, Rafael Nadal has gone through some trials, but keeps smiling

MONTREAL – At 29, Rafael Nadal is speaking about the past, remember his 19-year-old self at the Rogers Cup very well, and knowing that 10 years on, at 39, he won't be playing tennis.

Other than with the massive crowds of fans who gather to watch him practice – far more than any other player in the absence of Roger Federer this week, with even more skipping the practice to stand outside the court to wait for an autograph or a selfie, however long it takes – Nadal is under the radar here.

He typically will be, at a hard-court tournament. But his travails this season have dropped him to No. 9 in the world, bumped up slightly by his win a week ago at a clay-court tournament in Hamburg.

He's okay with it; Nadal considers his remarkable 2013 season, after missing such a big chunk of 2012 because of injury, as nothing short of a miracle while 2015 is more par for the course.

Here's Nadal on various topics.