US Open: Novak's number looks up as Rafael Nadal rules supreme

Nadal is poised to be world No1 again after his remarkable triumph last night
Chris Jones10 September 2013

Rafael Nadal, whose knee injury was supposed to bring a glittering career to a premature end, raised the US Open trophy above his head last night to signal a 13th Grand Slam title and confirm his position as the best player in the world.

The rankings have Novak Djokovic, beaten 6-2, 3-6, 6-4, 6-1, as the No1 but it could be merely weeks before Nadal usurps the Serb after a stunning hard-court run that produced another major crown and a 22-0 unbeaten record.

The year has seen Djokovic win the Australian Open, Andy Murray triumph at Wimbledon and Nadal collect the French Open and US Open trophies, along with eight other titles to send him hurtling back up the rankings. The Spaniard is now just 120 points behind Djokovic in the standings and, crucially, has no points to defend for the rest of the year.

Nadal missed the second half of last year due to a knee injury that appeared to signal a crossroads in his career with many doubting the Spaniard’s ability to be a Grand Slam winner on any surface other than clay. The more demanding North American and Australian hard courts would, so the perceived wisdom had it, create so much pressure on the left knee joint that he would be a limping shadow of his former self when he returned.

Fast forward to last night and the sight of Nadal sprinting all over the Arthur Ashe centre court, sliding, jumping, twisting, turning and generally putting his body – and those knees – through the kind of test that would floor the fittest athlete. The only time he hit the deck came from a stumble – the only time his footwork failed him – but Nadal bounced up straight away and the last time he hit the concrete was in celebration as he lay face down after becoming champion.

It is an even more remarkable triumph considering that after missing last year’s US Open and the Australian Open in January, Nadal won a record eighth French Open, only to crash out of the Wimbledon first round, losing to world No135 Steve Darcis of Belgium to trigger more mutterings about his ability to keep playing week after week on the tour.

Now, he is on the verge of becoming world No1 again, is just one Grand Slam away from matching Peter Sampras’s 14 and given his invincibility on clay, could overtake Roger Federer, whose 17 titles from the four majors is the all-time record. It used to be Federer’s name that was mentioned as the player who could smash the 20 Slam barrier, however, Nadal on this form, is the new favourite.

Nadal was never worried that he could come back at the same level after the knee injury and praised his coaching team led by Uncle Toni and said: “The most important thing and the most difficult is to be healthy. If you are healthy and have been in the top positions for nine years and you stop for seven months, why won’t you have the chance to be back there?

“I was working hard in tough moments, trying to be positive. A lot of people have been with me during this period of time, and it was not easy moments. When you go to the gym every day and you don’t see a positive result, then you lose a little bit of your energy. If I have those people around me during this period of time was decisive.

“Without them would be impossible have the chance to be here today.”

Against Djokvoic last night he also showed great mental toughness bouncing back from losing his serve in the second set after a lung busting 54-shot rally to immediately break back. Although he would lose the set, his will had not been broken as Djokovic was to discover, particularly in the fourth set.

Djokovic, who now trails Nadal 22-15 in head-to-head meetings, said; ”It’s all my own fault for making crucial errors and dropping serve twice when I shouldn’t have and then he started playing better. I couldn’t recover and he deserved to win the trophy. I didn’t. He’s definitely one of the best tennis players ever to play the game and we always push each other to the limit. That’s the beauty of our rivalry and this has been a successful Grand Slam year for me. I am 26 and believe the fire and love of the game is within me and the best is still to come.

“Winning 13 Grand Slams at 27 is incredible and he still has a lot of years to play. I am still No1 in the world in the rankings but he has a great chance to finish at the top.”

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