French Open: Rafa Nadal 'ready to suffer' to win tenth Roland Garros title

Rafa Nadal arrives in Paris "excited" and "ready to suffer" in his bid to win an unprecedented tenth French Open title.

Since making his debut at Roland Garros in 2005, this is only the second time he is returning not defending his crown.

A defeat in 2009's tournament in the fourth round to Swede Robin Soderling was his first defeat in Paris.

Nadal finally again released his customary grip on the Coupe des Mousquetaires when he was beaten by Novak Djokovic in the quarter-finals last year, with the Serb going on to lose to Stan Wawrinka in the final.

Despite entering this year's edition in a relatively unfamiliar position, Nadal remains humble in his approach.

"It's better to be here defending your title than not, but at the same time, it's obvious that it's impossible to have the same feeling every year," said the 29-year-old Spaniard.

"I had that feeling a lot of times in my career, but I'm not arriving with that feeling this year. At the same time, I am excited. The goal still is always the same if you are defending or you are not defending. It doesn't make a big difference on what you want to do."

Should Nadal return to his Parisian pedestal, he'd become the first player to win the same Grand Slam singles title for the 10th time - his very own 'La Decima'.

Nadal describes Roland Garros as the most important place of his career, and he said: "It's true that I had a lot of success here and it's true that I like the tournament. I like the organisation and I feel very comfortable with all the staff here in Roland Garros."

Despite a shaky start to 2016, Nadal has picked up his form nicely leading up to his favoured major. He won his first Masters title for two years in Monte Carlo in April and following that up with the title in Barcelona.

The withdrawal of Roger Federer due to injury is a boost to Nadal's hopes as he steps in as the No 4 seed. But should the draw play out to plan, the tough task will be getting past Djokovic in the semi-finals - Nadal has lost his last seven to the world No 1.

He said: "I played a few good events in a row. So I hope to continue playing well here. That's my goal - keep going the same way that I am playing, and if it's possible to play even a little bit better and better."

The draw, however, has made that goal not easy to achieve, with native Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in his quarter.

Big serving Aussie Sam Groth is first up for Nadal, and he knows it is not going to be an easy ride: "He's an uncomfortable first round. I need to be ready to suffer a little bit during the match, because I know it's going to be difficult to have breaks."

Nadal won't be in action until Monday or Tuesday, with Kei Nishikori being the highest seed in action on Day 1. Britain's Kyle Edmund launches his campaign on Sunday.