WATCH: Rafael Nadal receives a hero's welcome at Madrid Open on his return to home tournament ahead of first practice session

Rafael Nadal received a hero's welcome at the Madrid Open as he entered La Caja Magica (the magic box) for a practice session. The Spaniard is gearing up for the upcoming ATP Masters 1000 tournament.

The clay season moves to the capital of Spain as the Mutua Madrid Open 2024 is set to start on April 22, 2024, with the qualifying rounds. The main draw will begin on Wednesday, April 24.

Nadal recently landed in the capital and the Madrid Open gave a grand welcome to its five-time champion. The tournament's official X (formerly Twitter) handle shared a photo of Nadal walking towards La Caja Magica for his first practice session and captioned the post "Rafa está en casa", which translates to "Rafa is home".

In another video shared by a fan, all the TV screens in the tunnel and the advertising boards can be seen displaying ''Welcome Rafa" on them. Watch the clip here:

The "king of clay" was seen hitting formidable forehands at La Caja Magica during his practice session. A fan on X shared a video of the same:

The 37-year-old has an impressive record at the Madrid Open. He won the Madrid Open for the first time in 2005 and last won the tournament in 2017, his fifth title at the event.

Nadal will face a tough challenge this time around as his compatriot and two-time defending champion Carlos Alcaraz will look to clinch a three-peat at the event.

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"I don't know, it's really hard to say" - Rafael Nadal when asked what is his favorite tournament

Nadal speaks during The Netflix Slam

In a recent interactive session with children at the Barcelona Open, Rafael Nadal was asked what his favorite tournament is, along with many other fun questions.

"What is your favorite tournament?", the kids asked.

The Spaniard responded that he does not have one specific favorite tennis tournament and that there are many tournaments where he has had a great time. He was quoted as saying:

"I don't know, it's really hard to say a particular tournament. I have many, where I have had a great time but I can't really tell you. But, this tour of Europe, I have also had a great time in Latin America. So I don't know, many good memories from many places."

Nadal was also asked about the best birthday present given to him. The former World No. 1 responded:

"I do not know. I think one of my gifts was a trip to Egypt with all my family, when all were with the family. My dad, my mom, my four grandparents, well the whole family."