(CNN) -- Rafael Nadal is known as the undisputed king of clay with seven French Open titles to his name -- but the Spaniard was given an almighty scare in the quarterfinals of the Monte Carlo Masters Friday. 

Nadal, who has won the past eight editions of the tournament, was made to fight all the way by Bulgaria's Grigor Dimitrov before eventually prevailing 6-2 2-6 6-4. 

It was the first time the 26-year-old had dropped a set at the tournament since 2009 as he racked up a 45th consecutive match victory in the French principality. 

That record had looked in doubt until his opponent began to suffer with cramp in his leg, allowing Nadal to emerge victorious. 

But despite working his way back to fitness following a seven month absence with a knee injury, Nadal admits he still lacks match sharpness. 

"I didn't play tennis for seven months," he told reporters. "I'm losing little bit intensity of the match for moments. 

"That's normal after being a lot of time outside of the competition. I played for a month, then I stopped for another month. I need time to play with top rhythm for the whole match. 

"I was playing great at the first set, playing my best level. So that's the most important thing." 

Nadal was spotted playing with taping on his back, but he refused to elaborate on the problem when asked. 

He added: "I'm happy to be in the semifinals, I played the best with what I had. It's normal have problems on the back, on the shoulder, on the elbow." 
who is the story about?
 Rafael Nadal