BY AJAYBIR BEHNIWAL

As Rafael Nadal collapsed to the floor after securing his 13th career Grand Slam title, it became clear that this was one that was truly special to him.

Perhaps because it was against rival Novak Djokovic who had denied him three consecutive major titles, including their last meeting at Arthur Ashe Stadium in 2011 US Open; perhaps because of the skepticism he faced earlier this year upon his first round exit at Wimbledon; or perhaps because it just simply got the proverbial monkey off his back after a successful return from his knee injury.

The Fall From Grace

For the last several years, Nadal has struggled through a number of knee problems, with the worst stretch beginning at Wimbledon in 2012 where he lost in the second round–the first time in seven years that he had failed to make it beyond the second round of a Grand Slam tournament. Weeks later, Nadal was forced to withdraw from the 2012 London Olympics due to tendinitis in his knee, making it impossible for him to defend his gold medal from the 2008 Beijing Olympics. As if that blow wasn’t enough, just one month later he announced his withdrawal from the US Open also. At the end of 2012, Nadal found himself in foreign territory as he dropped down to No. 4 in the year-end rankings, the first time in eight years that he hadn’t finished either No. 1 or No. 2.

The more prolonged Nadal’s return to the court was, the louder the critics seemed to get, questioning his body’s durability and even the longevity of his career. Thus, when Rafa withdrew from the 2013 Australian Open, it came as no surprise that the skepticism grew. Although Nadal cited a stomach virus as his reason for being unable to play, some believed he was still nursing his ailing knee.

Both Nadal and his camp, including his uncle Toni, were adamant about making sure that he was completely healthy before he made his return to the sport. Even if it meant not getting a chance at redemption against Djokovic, who was entering the tournament as the back-to-back defending champion after having beaten the Spaniard in an epic 5 hour, 53 minute five-set marathon in 2012.

And although Rafa realized that this would mean waiting at least another year to finally have a chance to avenge the painful loss in Melbourne, he also saw the bigger picture–one that finally became a bit more clear to the rest of the world as he fell to the court after clinching the 2013 US Open championship.

The Rocky Road from the Highest of Highs to the Lowest of Lows

Knowing that he would undoubtedly be rusty after his seven month hiatus, Nadal wisely elected to ease his way back into the tennis world by playing on his favorite surface in several clay court tournaments before taking to any hard court tournaments or any of the stops on the Masters 1000s tour. In doing so, the 27 year old had created a masterful blueprint for making an ascent in the rankings.

On the road to his first appearance in a Grand Slam since his disappointing second round loss at Wimbledon last year, Nadal reached the finals of each of the eight tournaments he entered, winning the title six times. In doing so, he also tallied several big wins against top players including Djokovic, Roger Federer, Juan Martin del Potro, and David Ferrer. With a renewed sense of confidence, Rafa sought after his fourth consecutive and eighth overall championship at Rolland Garros.

On his quest to the title, he met none other than top-ranked Novak Djokovic, who had handed him one of his two losses of the season just two months prior, in a semifinal match that was a rematch of the 2012 French Open final. After being down a break in the fifth set of the match, Nadal was able to will his way back to a 6-4, 3-6, 6-1, 6-7(3), 9-7 victory in yet another classic battle between the two players. Rafa was able to cruise in the final in dominating fashion with a straight-set victory over fellow countryman David Ferrer, making him the first player to have captured 8 singles titles at any single Grand Slam event.

Finally feeling the toll of the grueling schedule he had just completed, Nadal opted not to play in any of the Wimbledon tune-ups on the grass, hoping to give his body a chance to recover before attempting to make a run similar to those of 2008 and 2010, while erasing any memories of last year’s second round disaster. Instead, however, his return to the All England Tennis Club was even more disastrous this time around, as he lost in the opening round to No. 135 Steve Darcis of Belgium in straight sets. Not only was Darcis the lowest ranked opponent to have defeated Nadal in a Grand Slam, but it was also the first time in his career that the Spaniard had lost in the first round of a major.

The Most Graceful of Returns

Within moments of his Wimbledon loss, it became increasingly clear that Nadal planned on handling the shocking loss with humility and class. Throughout his post-match press conference, Rafa dodged and refused to answer any questions pertaining to his ailing knee and the role it may have played in his loss. While the naysayers seemed to re-emerge, Nadal kept his composure, knowing that in order to climb back to the top of the rankings, he’d need to be virtually perfect. And he was.

After capturing back-to-back titles in Montreal and Cincinatti, including an impressive three-set victory in the semifinals at Montreal over Djokovic, Nadal quickly showed that he was in a great position to make a legitimate run in the US Open to close out the 2013 season. He did just that in a dominating fashion, dropping just one set in his six matches leading to the final. In the process he had his serve broken by an opponent just once out of his 82 service games. However, on the opposite side of the draw Djokovic was also playing some of his best tennis, having just defeated Stanislas Wawrinka, in a come-from-behind five-set semifinal victory. It would be the third meeting in the last four years between the two rivals in the US Open finals, with Nadal having won the first meeting in 2010 and Djokovic avenging that defeat the following year.

The Final Showdown

Nadal was the first to settle in comfortably and took control of the points early, while Djokovic seemed to still be a little gassed from his physically grueling semifinal match against Wawrinka. Rafa continued his dominance with his serve and took advantage of his counterpart’s slow start, breaking his serve twice in the first set, before clinching it 6-2.

Coming into the match, Nadal boasted a 151-3 record in Grand Slam matches in which he had captured the first set, but if there is anyone on the tour who has proven to be able to both physically and mentally fight an uphill battle in the past few years, it is Djokovic. And as he took the court in the second set, it became clear that he wasn’t going to fold without a fight.

Halfway through the set, Djokovic and Nadal played undoubtedly the best point of the US Open this year, engaging in a 54-shot rally that ended with the Serbian taking advantage of a rare break point opportunity to take a 4-2 lead in the set and sending the crowd to their feet for a lengthy ovation. The exchange of powerful groundstrokes with precise placement and two of the most mobile players in the game resulted in several incredible back-and-forth points consisting of rallies of greater than 20 shots. Djokovic would break Nadal later in the set to even the match at one set apiece.

Eight games into the third set with the score level at four games apiece, Nadal quickly dropped three points on his serve and faced a triple break point. Just as it appeared as though the fairy tale ending to his otherwise rocky, injury-plagued season might be in jeopardy, Rafael Nadal put on a show for the ages to capture his 13th career Grand Slam title. After fighting off three consecutive break opportunities and an additional one after Djokovic earned an advantage, Nadal miraculously put the pressure back on his opponent to hold serve to stay in the set. It seemed, however, that Djokovic was mentally unable to overcome the memory of the blown opportunity, as he was unable to hold serve to even the score at 5-5.

“I had my momentum from midway second set to end of the third where I was supposed to, you know, use and realize the opportunities that were presented to me, and I didn’t do it,” Djokovic said.

Another one of those missed opportunities came in the first game of the fourth set as he had another break point that he failed to convert. Instead, in the following game, he lost the first three points and found himself on the other end of where he had been just four games prior–facing a triple break point. From there, recovering became an impossible task as Nadal slowly took over before closing the match with a 6-2, 3-6, 6-4, 6-1 victory.

“This is probably the most emotional one in my career,” Nadal said after the match. “I know I had to be almost perfect to win.”

Until Next Time

With Roger Federer appearing to have possibly maxed out his extraordinary career and Andy Murray still not able to consistently reach the finals at majors, the landscape of tennis has changed and both Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic are at the forefront, with their rivalry becoming one for the ages. The two have played an open era record, 37 matches against one another, with Nadal holding 22 victories to Djokovic’s 15.

As both enter the off-season, they will certainly look to improve certain aspects of their respective games, while also attempting to refine strategies targeted specifically for deployment in their next meeting, which fans will hope is in the finals of the 2014 Australian Open where Nadal would seek to snap Djokovic’s streak of three consecutive titles.

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To see Rafael Nadal’s match results from the 2013 season, click here.

For highlights of the best of Monday’s final, visit Deadspin