Spain’s Rafael Nadal returned to tennis after a seven month absence with a knee injury to produce one of his finest ever years. He missed the Australian Open, but was back to his best to win the French Open for a record eighth time, becoming the only male player to win at least one Grand Slam event for nine consecutive years and confirming his position as probably the greatest clay court player in history.
He also won the US Open in September to take him to a career total of 13 Grand Slams, just four behind Roger Federer. In 2013, he regained his No 1 world ranking and also won five ATP Masters 1000 tournaments.
