Rafa Nadal may not be allergic to grass but his relationship with the varied lawns of Europe is far from idyllic. Though Nadal’s resume is impressive, a few holes remain including his failure to win the ATP World Tour Finals and his inability to defend a title on a surface other than clay.

Over the last several years, some of Nadal’s most newsworthy and shocking losses have occurred at Wimbledon or the tune-up events prior to Wimbledon. In 2012 at the grass court event in Halle, Germany, Nadal lost in straight sets in the quarters to the defending champion, Philipp Kohlschreiber. At the All-England Club a few weeks later, the hard-hitting and imposing Czech Lukas Rosol sent Nadal packing after five sets in the second round.

At Wimbledon the following year, the oft-injured Spaniard was blown off the court in the first round in straight sets by Steve Darcis, then ranked 135th in the world. Last year Nadal progressed to the fourth round where he encountered and succumbed to the physically and emotionally explosive young Australian, Nick Kyrgios.

During the era of the Swiss legend Roger Federer, Rafa Nadal won a remarkable 65 ATP tour titles though only three of them were on grass - Queens Club and Wimbledon in 2008 and Wimbledon in 2010. After a disappointing and by some pundit’s standards, abysmal clay court season, Nadal is hoping to turn a corner and improve his ranking at the Mercedes Cup in Stuttgart, Germany where he is seeded first.

This ATP World Tour 250 tournament, previously a clay-court event, will be contested on grass for the first time. With only three precious weeks to the start of the Wimbledon Championships, this tournament boasts an impressive field including the former number two player in the world Tommy Haas, coming back from yet another serious injury and Marin Cilic, the 2 seed and reigning US Open champion.

Two young rising stars on the ATP World Tour, Dominic Thiem and Borna Coric, both stellar on the dirt, are looking to add grass court victories to their impressive resumes with the hope of playing deep into the second week at the All-England Club.

Feliciano Lopez, the versatile lefty from Spain with two career titles on grass at Eastbourne (2013, 2014), is the number three seed while the always entertaining and unpredictable Frenchman, Gael Monfils, seeded fourth could meet Nadal in the semis.

Bernard Tomic, also on Nadal’s side of the draw and seeded fifth, should not be underestimated on his favorite surface despite his inability to close out several matches this season when up match points. Philipp Kohlschreiber, the #6 seed, would meet Nadal in the semis should they progress that far.

First up for the two-time Wimbledon champion Rafa Nadal is either Lukas Rosol or Marcos Baghdatis and should he survive that match, Tommy Haas – a two-time winner on the grass at Halle – potentially awaits in the quarter-finals.

The road to Roland Garros was long and agonizing–especially for Nadal. The grass court season cannot start soon enough at the Mercedes Cup for the battle weary Spaniard. It remains to be seen whether a change of surface and eventually attire at the All-England Club, will rejuvenate and inspire the 14 –time Grand Slam champion. For Nadal, this time the injury isn’t physical – it’s metaphysical. Nadal is too much in his head and in his own way. Will the lush lawns of Stuttgart, London and Wimbledon envelop or bruise him? All bets are off.