Rafael Nadal grabs Deportes de la Agencia EFE award as top male athlete

The end of the year is a perfect time to summarize the season and bring the awards to those athletes who had shown the most. One name has been the dominant force in Spain these days, with world no. 1 Rafael Nadal taking one honor after another following stellar season that propelled him to the top, just like four times before. The latest award for the 19-time Major champion comes from the Deportes de la Agencia EFE that picked him as the best male Spanish athlete of 2019, ahead of Marc Marquez and Marc Gasol. With four notable titles under his belt, Nadal now stands on 19 Major crowns (he won Roland Garros and the US Open) and 35 Masters 1000 trophies (Rome and Montreal), stealing the year-end no. 1 honor ahead of Novak Djokovic to join the exclusive list of players with at least five year-end no. 1 awards.

Sidelined from the court since the US Open 2018, Rafa had to miss the season opener in Brisbane, making a return at the Australian Open where he reached the final without losing a set, only to suffer a severe defeat to Novak Djokovic and finish runner-up. Nadal had to deal with injuries in Acapulco (wasted match points against Nick Kyrgios) and Indian Wells (withdrawal before the clash against Roger Federer), heading to beloved clay with no form after skipping Miami. Fabio Fognini, Dominic Thiem and Stefanos Tsitsipas defeated him in the semi-final in Monte Carlo, Barcelona and Madrid, with time running away from Rafa ahead of Rome and Roland Garros. With no room for errors, the Spaniard claimed both titles, earning 3000 points and extending his reign in Paris to unmatched 12 years, gathering momentum and advancing into the semi-final at Wimbledon for the second straight year.

Roger Federer toppled him in four sets and Rafa was back at his best in Montreal and the US Open, adding more significant titles to his tally and becoming the favorite for the year-end no. 1 position. Nadal had to skip Shanghai Masters and made a return in Paris, desperate to earn points and stay ahead of Novak in the closing stages of the year. An injury forced the Spaniard to withdraw before the semi-final clash with Denis Shapovalov, heading to the ATP Finals with 640 points advantage over the Serb who conquered the crown in Paris.

In London, Rafa played one of the worst matches of the year against Alexander Zverev in the first match, working hard to overpower Daniil Medvedev (coming from the verge of defeat) and Stefanos Tsitsipas, earning 400 points and staying ahead of Novak who also failed to pass the round-robin stage, allowing Rafa to finish as the year-end no. 1 for the fifth time. In Madrid, Nadal was the leader of the pack, scoring eight victories to lead Spain towards the title, dropping only two matches after Madrid to conquer the ATP throne. The Spaniard closed the year on a high note, beating Stefanos Tsitsipas in an epic final to grab the record-breaking fifth Mubadala World Tennis Championship crown, traveling back home to Mallorca and getting ready for the ATP Cup. 

from Tennis World USA https://ift.tt/2MAVSWw