Rafael Nadal has bullied his way back to World No. 1 with an explosively impressive 2013 season. Nadal surpassed Novak Djokovic last week after his run to the final of the China Open in Beijing. Nadal lost the final to Djokovic in convincing fashion, 6-3 6-4, but had accumulated enough points to overtake his closest rival on Monday, October 7th. Nadal owns a slim 400 point lead over Djokovic for the No.1 spot, but the long road he has taken to get back to the place where he finished 2008 and 2010 has been documented and marveled the entire year.
Nadal returned to the ATP World Tour in February on his beloved clay at a small ATP World Tour 250 event in Vina del Mar, where he reached the final before losing a tight match to little known professional Horacio Zeballos. During that tournament, Nadal looked tentative with his movement and was unsure of his footing. The nagging knee injuries he has had throughout his career due to his extremely physical playing style had finally caught up to him in 2012. He missed eight months on tour from Wimbledon 2012 until this February at Vina del Mar because of a knee injury. After this small clay court tournament, Nadal has simply pushed almost everyone he has faced aside and competed his way back to the top. He has compiled an impressive 68-5 record, won 2 Grand Slams (The French Open and US Open), and 6 ATP World Tour Masters 1000 events. Rafa has 10 titles in total this year and, to many people's surprise, maintained an undefeated mark on hard courts through the US Open, winning America's Grand Slam along with major events in Indian Wells, Montreal, and Cincinnati. Hard court was a surface that Nadal has had success on in the past, but also a surface that has taken its toll on his knees and body. His first round loss at Wimbledon proved to only be a minor speed bump in his assault on the rest of the tour this season. Nadal has looked ruthless during the majority of the year, dictating play with his heavy topspin and fearsome forehand. His movement and court coverage has gradually returned to his expected level, but he recognized that he had to alter his style of play in his latest ascent to No. 1.
Rafa has shown the ability to tinker with certain aspects of his game in order to get past certain opponents and to make life easier on his body. When Djokovic broke through in 2011 and beat Nadal an astonishing six times that season, Nadal had hit a roadblock similar to the one Roger Federer hit against him when Rafa became a serious contender. Djokovic had made the conscious decision to stay out on the court for as long as it takes and beat Nadal at his own game in 2011. He was willing to grind and play 30-ball rallies every point and push himself to the physical and mental limit against the player no one dared to go toe-to-toe with in this fashion before. Nadal looked befuddled in the majority of their encounters, as his favorite play of dictating with his forehand from the center of the court did not bother Djokovic. His heavy crosscourt forehand to his opponent's backhand that has given Federer fits over the years did not phase Djokovic, as Djokovic has arguably the best two-handed backhand in the world. He was not able to get ahead in many points as Djokovic has been the best return of server in the world in the past couple of years. This led to many exchanges where Djokovic was sitting in the middle of the court dictating play with Nadal scrambling to stay alive. This trend has forced Nadal to change his style of play against every opponent, especially Djokovic. This year he is stepping up into the court and hanging on the baseline as opposed to drifting several feet behind. He is dictating more points, especially with his forehand, and as a result is doing less running. This is crucial for Nadal's longevity in professional tennis this day and age, as the game's physicality has dramatically increased in the last five years. Players are fitter, stronger, and can serve and hit harder and heavier than ever before in today's game, and Nadal, in his prime at age 27, exemplifies this tenfold. His decision to stand closer to the baseline and attack earlier in the rally with his groundstrokes or net approaches is the main reason for his rise back to No. 1. He has turned the tables on his rivalry with Djokovic and is doing so with his new aggressive nature and continued physical fitness work. Even though Rafa has made this alteration in his game, he is still ready and willing to push himself and grind for 54 shots, as evidenced by this insane rally from the US Open final:
With his undefeated US Open Series summer and title in New York, Nadal amassed a record-breaking $3.6 million dollar pay day when he defeated Djokovic in the four set final. Nadal has earned an amazing $10,870,089 in tournament prize money this season because of his 10 titles and 3 finals, and that does not include his various lucrative worldwide sponsorship deals. Nadal has certainly been the best player in the world this season, and impressively owns a winning record against every player in the Top 30 in the world rankings. He now only trails Federer 17 to 13 in Grand Slam titles, and with his one-sided record vs. Federer, is being discussed as possibly the greatest player of all-time. This is pretty amazing for a guy who returned from a career-threatening knee injury with questions about his health and durability. I think it's safe to say he's answered them and will continue to in his quest to achieve all-time great status.
No comments:
Post a Comment