Rafael Nadal seals No. 1 ranking with fighting victory over Stan Wawrinka

Rafael Nadal of Spain celebrates a point in his men’s singles match against Stanislas Wawrinka of Switzerland during day three of the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals at O2 Arena

Rafael Nadal was a man in a hurry last night, putting the year end number one ranking to bed with a hard fought victory over Stanislas Wawrinka in his second round robin match at the ATP World Tour Finals in London. In an exciting match between the Spaniard and the Swiss, Nadal eked out a narrow 7-6(5), 7-6(6) victory over his opponent after a stirring two hour 14 minute match.

Nadal became the first among eight men to reach the semifinals of the only big event missing from his bulging collection of titles and sealed the year end honours for the third time in his career. This was Nadal’s 73rd match victory against just six losses in what has been a spectacular return from a career threatening injury that kept him out for 222 days. Nadal will finish at the top of the heap for a third time in his career (2008, 2010 earlier) and become the only man to have regained the No.1 ranking twice in his career.

The determined Wawrinka, who has enjoyed the best season of his career, sought to challenge the indefatigable Nadal by taking the attack to his opponent straight off the bat. Wawrinka held at love to make a confident start to the match against the world No.1, but the Mallorcan held his own as they remained even at 2-2.

The deadlock was broken when Wawrinka fell to 0-30 in the fifth game, after the Swiss framed an easy forehand to offer two break points. The first was saved with a service winner, but a tame double fault on the next point gifted the break to Nadal. Wawrinka had a couple of chances to claw the break back in the eighth game, but his wayward groundstrokes cost him the chances.

The break eventually came in the tenth game, when Wawrinka struck a thundering forehand cross court winner to prevent Nadal from serving out the set. The Swiss held at love in the next game to ensure that Nadal had to serve this time to stay in the set and the Spaniard did so without too much fuss to force the set into a tie-breaker.

Wawrinka enjoyed a 5-4 lead, but Nadal struck a forehand winner that clipped the line to draw level. The Swiss offered set point to Nadal with a loose volley and another winner from the Spaniard tied out the set in favour of Nadal. The misses miffed Wawrinka so badly that he ended up breaking his racket and receiving a warning from the match official.

The situation turned complex for Wawrinka when he offered three break points to Nadal in the fourth game. The Swiss player sailed a forehand long to surrender the edge to Nadal at 3-1 in the second set. Wawrinka forces breakpoint in the very next game, but then returns to his erroneous ways to help Nadal consolidate for a 4-1 lead.

Apparently down and out, the Swiss roared back into the match with an unexpected break in the sixth game. The world No.8 made his state of desperation work to his advantage – pummeling the Nadal forehand into submission, at least temporarily, to earn two break points. Luck played its part – affording Wawrinka a lucky dip off the tape to return some life into the set at 4-3.

Play remained on serve and Nadal stayed on course to become the first man through to the last four by winning the eleventh game. Wawrinka had to serve to stay in the match, but showed immense resolve to clinch a sensational 28 stroke rally matching the great Spaniard stroke for brutal stroke. The second set, like the first, was pushed into a breaker when Wawrinka held serve without too much trouble.

Time was running out on the Swiss, when he slipped up at the start of the breaker. He lost both his service points to fall to 0-3 and Nadal kept the momentum in his favour when the players switched ends at 4-2. Not to be swept away easily, Wawrinka kept the breaker alive by winning four points in a row to lead 5-4.

The Swiss had an easy opportunity to gain a couple of set points, but swung a forehand wide to spurn the chance. Wawrinka did earn set point eventually by winning the next point, but Nadal killed it as soon as it came with a thumping smash to draw even at 6-6. The smash broke the Swiss man’s spirit and Nadal took his first match point home, when Wawrinka dumped a backhand in the net to signal the end.

To his credit, Wawrinka did try to force the issue, but ended up with a whopping 45 errors to 30 winners to dent his own chances. In studied contrast, Nadal was his regular steady self; ensuring he kept a clean sheet against Wawrinka, who is yet to take a set off Nadal in a dozen lost matches. The Spaniard described his return to the top as the “perfect scenario.”

“I had a lot of emotions today, it’s the perfect scenario to be the year-end number one,” said the Mallorcan. “After missing this tournament last year, it’s been an unbelievable comeback. Being number one at the end of the season is something really difficult as there are some unbelievable competitors out there.” No one is nearly as unbelievable as the Spaniard himself, who continues to defy the norm with sustained regularity.

Nadal’s second win in as many matches edges him closer to attain the only big trophy missing from his mighty collection. The Spaniard has qualified for the event nine times, but has only played it six years owing to his wobbly knees. His best finish came in 2010, when he finished runner-up to Roger Federer.