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| Nadal In 'World Tour Finals Blue' - © Vita Fu |
As Rafael Nadal collected balls to serve, knowing that he could be as little as six points from defeat, an unfamiliar expression adorned his face, resignation.
His play didn’t portray the same beaten man that his face
revealed, and he saved two more break points in typically flamboyant fashion to
delay the inevitable.
But this flicker of frustration and understanding his fate
was an insight into the strength of feeling the World No.1 has for a tournament
he is still yet to win.
A glittering CV, including wins at all four grand slams, and
a plethora of Masters series events, does not make up for this empty space, the
missing World Tour Finals trophy.
Before the final, the lefthander was repeatedly questioned
about his failure to win the event, and his frustrations were clear to see.
Whilst remaining polite and praiseworthy towards the ATP
tour, Nadal is as good a loser as he is a champion; he made sure to highlight
his dismay at the tournament always being played indoors.
“I feel like I am unlucky. During these nine years the
Masters Cup was on indoor, a surface that was not the best for me. I think this
is unfair.”
Nadal, who played in what could be described as ‘World Tour
Finals blue’, made no effort to hide how much winning the tournament would have
meant, but as Djokovic celebrated back to back wins at the O2 arena, the
Spaniard missed out again.
Before the final, Nadal said to the BBC, winning the event
would be: “The perfect way to close probably the best year in my career.”
While it was not to be, the transformation from injured and
absent, to being reinstated as World No.1, has been a remarkable one.
As well as the best year of his career, the Mallorcan has
also described it as the most emotional one.
Publicly, Nadal has made a remarkable rise back to
prominence, and in such a short space of time, he was returned to his serene
best. Privately it has been less serene.
“What really produced these emotional moments was working
hard in tough moments trying to be positive.
“A lot of people were with me during this period of time.
When you go to the gym every day and you don’t see a positive result, then you lose
energy.
“Having these people around me during this period of time
was decisive.”
The Spaniard is so adept at making everything on a tennis
court look so easy, there has been little indication of these struggles.
As well as having the right people around him Nadal has a
meticulous nature.
This is visible when he’s on court as he carefully arranges
his water bottles in formation; it is also visible when carefully considering
the route and structure of his comeback.
His decision to return to tennis on a clay court was not a coincidence;
the surface he is most comfortable on was always the one he would return on.
By the time he returned to a hard court, and the surface
that most tests his game and his knees, he was ready.
His 22nd consecutive hard court win of 2013 saw
Nadal lift the US Open title, and even before this win over Novak Djokovic, the
Serbian was forced to acknowledge the might of the man from Manacor.
Even before Nadal defeated him in the US Open final and then
regained the number one ranking, the Serbian declared his Spanish counterpart
the best player in the world this year.
Aside from his meticulous preparation and superstitions, and
aside from the form that have seen him eclipse all this year there still
remains questions for Nadal, and a Djokovic conundrum.
Looking beyond the Spaniard’s success in grand slams against
the World No. 2, to the autumn meetings, and Djokovic seems to once again hold
the upper hand.
Having beaten Djokovic for the 22nd time when
they met at Flushing Meadows, Nadal has seen his Serbian rival roar back with a
straight-set victory in Shanghai, and this more recent success in London.
Whilst remaining fit should guarantee a 9th Roland
Garros title in June 2014, the same cannot be said elsewhere.
The current World No. 1 will face stiff challenges in a long
hard court season, and face uncertainty when he returns to Wimbledon.
A tournament that he says he loves, on a surface he
describes as frustrating, unpredictable and funny, is sure to provide a
defining moment in Rafael Nadal’s 2014 as he looks to follow a stunning 2013.
Whilst there was no fairy-tale ending to Rafael Nadal’s
2013, the journey was a spectacular one, and it only renews expectation and
anticipation for next year.
With the World Tour Final’s trophy still yet to grace his
mantelpiece, the World No. 1 still has more boxes to tick.
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