Despite the emergence of Novak Djokovic, world number two Rafael Nadal showed that he was as strong as ever in 2011.
Unfortunately for the Spaniard, he met the formidable Serbian in nearly all of his finals during the year.
His first Grand Slam appearance of the season in January at the Australian Open may have suggested that it was going to be a tough campaign for the Spaniard as he lost in the quarter-finals to his fellow countryman David Ferrer.
His hard court season got marginally better as he reached the finals of Indian Wells and Miami, but Nadal was beaten both times by the superior Djokovic.
Moving onto his favoured clay courts, the 25-year-old claimed his first title of the year when he won the Monte Carlo Masters, beating Ferrer in straight sets in the final. Another win against Ferrer in the final of the Barcelona Open saw Nadal then lose to Djokovic in the final of the Madrid Open, proving that he no longer had it all his own way in the Mediterranean.
Sure enough, the Serb was there again to win in Rome, before Nadal came through a tough draw to beat Roger Federer in the final of the French Open, his sixth title at Roland Garros.
Another difficult draw at Wimbledon saw him defeat Juan Martin del Potro, Mardy Fish and Andy Murray before another final showdown with Djokovic.
Despite a fightback in the third, Nadal was soundly beaten by Djokovic in four sets as the Serb continued his astonishing season.
Losses at the Rogers Cup in Montreal and Cincinnati were not the best preparation for the US Open in August, but Nadal again produced the performances when they counted to set up an encounter with Djokovic in the final. Yet again the Serb was victorious in four sets.
An indifferent tour of Asia saw him beaten by Andy Murray in the final of the Japan Open, before a third round defeat at the hands of Florian Mayer in Shanghai.
Nadal's performances at the ATP World Tour Finals in London in November showed a laboured player who was quite possibly feeling the burnout of an arduous season. A win over Mardy Fish was followed by a mauling from Roger Federer. A further defeat by Jo-Wilfried Tsonga saw him crash out of the tournament.
After his exit Nadal claimed that he had lost his passion for tennis. However, as he leads Spain into the Davis Cup final against Argentina, he said that his comments had been misinterpreted.
Either way, he would be forgiven for looking forward to a rest. Novak Djokovic may have emerged as the best in the world, but no-one plays with quite the intensity as Nadal.
Jack Prescott
