Rafael Nadal is having quite the year and now things are capped off, as the star is now back to the number one ranking after winning the US Open earlier in the summer and making it to the finals of the China Open and he will be facing a familiar opponent in Novak Djokovic in Beijing.
Nadal has been playing fantastic all year since coming back from his knee injury last year and he has won the French Open and the US Open while making it to the finals in every hard court tournament he has played this year. Nadal has yet to lose on hard courts this year and now he is back to the number one ranking three years after last having it, a feat that no one else has done and he doesn't appear to be slowing down, as he may end up with his fourth career title.
Check here for ESPN coverage of Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic from the China Open.
Serena Williams is into the final and if she wins and Nadal ends up beating Djokovic, the two will repeat their performance at the US Open, where they each won the title. Djokovic advanced to the final in straight sets and Nadal had an easy win while playing 4-2 to Tomas Berdych, which had to retire from the match due to an injury. Nadal was fantastic during the run up to the tournament and after being out for last year with an injury and thinking he may never play again possibly, it is amazing that he has reached number one again.
Nadal would have taken back the number one ranking whether he won or lost the final and that is due to the strength of him winning two majors and playing so well all year, taking 10 titles this season. Nadal has barely lost on tour this year, dropping only three matches while winning 63 and he has made it into the finals of all but two of his 12 tournaments and he appears ready to take another title. Nadal was able to win over Djokovic at the US Open with a great match and with Andy Murray down with an injury, he could have the top spot for a while.
Although Nadal lost at Wimbledon, he was able to rebound to win another US Open and he has continued to be dominant at the French Open, winning eight career titles.
