Rafael Nadal will have defied logic when he returns to the top of men’s tennis Monday, and now the only question is how far his trademark resilience can take him.
The future looked bleak only a year ago but after seven months on the sidelines, the Spaniard has bounced back in a recovery that has been nothing short of amazing.
Ten titles later — including his 12th and 13th majors, and an unbeaten run on hardcourts — and Nadal is back at world number one for the third time in his career.
Crucially, he is only four away from Roger Federer’s all-time record of 17 Grand Slam victories, a benchmark that is potentially matchable over the next 12 months.
Nadal, 27, has played down expectations that he can achieve the holy grail of a calendar-year Grand Slam, and in the process catch his Swiss rival.
“To win all four Grand Slams in one year I think today is impossible for anyone. That’s my feeling,” said Nadal, after beating Novak Djokovic in last month’s US Open final.
“Today the best players are there all the time, so to win a tournament like this you have to win against Roger, against David (Ferrer), against Andy (Murray), against Novak.”
However, if this era has been defined by the “Big Four” — Nadal, Federer, Djokovic and Murray — the Spaniard has, this year, put his rivals firmly in their place.
With Federer finally showing signs that time is catching up with him, and Murray inconsistent apart from his historic Wimbledon win, Nadal has unpredictably emerged as top dog.
And he has had the beating of Djokovic, coming out on top at both Roland Garros and Flushing Meadows, as well as the Canada Masters.
Djokovic can be expected to re-group and come back at Nadal, along with Murray after the Scot has recovered from back surgery.
From the Australian Open in January, fans will be watching closely to see if Nadal’s creaky knees can carry him through yet another season of heroics.
But it would be no surprise to see his teeth biting more Grand Slam trophies next year in his now familiar celebration.
Nadal has been typically self-effacing over comments from Pete Sampras and Andre Agassi, who predict he will overtake Federer’s major haul.
“If that happens or that not happens, the only thing I am sure is when I am going to leave this tour, I am going to be very happy about what I did,” he said.
And for now, he is certain to enjoy the accomplishment of being re-crowned world number one, a feat that he would have deemed unthinkable this time last year.
“If I am number one, it will be an amazing, amazing season for me,” he said in August, before the US Open.