It is the end of the year, for the men, after almost 11 months. They are done, finally, at the end of November, and the No. 1, Rafa Nadal, has had a tremendous year.
On Sunday, in Madrid, Spain won the title at the Davis Cup, beating Canada 2-0.
Nadal won everything, in singles, and believe it or not, in the doubles, too. Through the year, the lefty Spaniard rarely plays doubles because he wants to make sure that if he does, he could get hurt and he would not play at all. But the 33-year-old is very careful now, with the exception of playing clay constantly, but when he is conscious of how his body is reacting, then he can just rip the ball and be aggressive.
On Sunday, in the final, he edged the young man, Denis Shapovalov, 6-3, 7-6. The Canadian Shapovalov had a fine event, in the singles and doubles, too. But, in this match, Nadal was a little more intense and he was on fire. Over the past two years, the now 20-year-old Shapovalov has gotten better, and next year, he may crack into the top 10, but currently, he get frustrated, and he knock it too long. Shapovalov looks pretty darn good, but to win the match, he had to overcome the fans who were screaming for Nadal. To stun Nadal at his home, well, Shapovalov would have to play 100 percent. That is very difficult, and while the Canadian was trying as hard as he could, he must realize that the 19-Grand Slam champion Nadal is better than he is.
Shapovalov did upset Nadal in Montreal two years ago, but that was then, and this was now.
In the first match, the veteran
Roberto Bautista Agut beat a super young player, Felix Auger-Aliassime, 7-6
6-3. Nadal was raring to go, and he did. Nadal was lethal with his big
forehand, and he mixed his serve into the middle into the chest, and he touched
the corners. He could swing it away, because Spain already was up a match.
Nadal won all eight matches, including five singles, and three doubles. He did not drop a set. He is the clear No. 1, winning Roland Garros, the US Open and now the Davis Cup, among others.
Since 2000, Spain has won the Davis Cup six times. It wasn’t just about Nadal.
Next January, Nadal will be thinking about winning the Australian Open. If he does that, he will tie with Roger Federer at 20 Slams. Of course, he can wait until Roland Garros, which he has won 12 times in June on clay, but perhaps Nadal wants to celebrate on the hard courts in Melbourne. He never brags, but for everyone, they have to here the voices when you are sleeping. You cannot take it away. Or perhaps, the dreams will hide you, but for Nadal, when you are awake, then you will think about it and believe he can still beat everyone. Just like he did at Madrid.