Dubai: World number two Rafael Nadal is willing to bide his time as he acknowledges his evolution as one of the players in with a chance of ruling men's tennis in the future.

"Everything depends on how you are playing at an event. A lot of things defend on how you are playing at the moment and the situation that you are faced with," Nadal told media at the round-table meeting held prior to the start of the Barclays Dubai Tennis Championships.

"I don't try to think about being number one or number two.

"My aim and goal is to just finish well and perform well as a player in all the tournaments that I take part in," the Spaniard stated.

Ranked number two behind Roger Federer, Nadal has had a fairly solid start to the 2008 season.

He has played in three tournaments, including the Australian Open where he lost to Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in the semifinals.

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He opened 2008 with a final appearance at the Chennai Open in India, eventually going down 6-0, 6-1 to Russian Mikhail Youzhny.

"The aim is to try and play good, play solid and play good tennis and in the process find my best performance.

"And with the performance will come the confidence and self-belief and the rankings will take care of itself," he beamed.

Two seasons back, Nadal staged a remarkable recovery to stun Federer in the final in Dubai. This year too, he is seen as one of the title favourites along with Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray.

"Since 2006, my game has not changed a lot. My aim is always to improve without changing any bit of my style," Nadal said.

Seeded second here, Nadal has been drawn to play German Philipp Kohlschreiber in their first round to be played tomorrow.

"I have always predicted that 2008 is going to be tough.

"There are a lot of very good players and all of them are capable of winning on their day," Nadal said.

In case he gets past his first round German opponent, then he will have to face a comparatively easier second round against either one of four qualifiers or Mahmoud Nader of the UAE, who has been handed a wild card in place of Omar Behroozian this year.

"Looking at the field here, one can safely say that this is one of the tougher draws on the tour. The surface is fast here and it is going to be tough for those playing in the lower half of the draw," Nadal said.

The Spaniard is a keen golf player, but has been unable to pursue his interest due to a lack of time. "My golf is in a crisis at the moment.

"I have not been able to play as much as I would have wanted," Nadal joked.

In case he gets past his first round German opponent, he will face an easier second round against either one of four qualifiers or Nader of the UAE, who has been handed a wild card in place of Behroozian this year...