The year is not apparently over for Rafael Nadal as the Spaniard was able to win his first ever Japan Open title on Sunday as he defeated Gael Monfils, the No. 5 seed Frenchman.
Unlike his performance against Viktor Troicki, Nadal roared out right from the first set, effectively breaking Monfils in the second and sixth games. He was able to keep Monfils off the net with his well placed volleys that ended the first set in just 25 minutes at 6-1.
However, in the second set, Monfils was able to recover some of the lost momentum in the earlier part of the set by delivering strong serves, and even did some crowd pleasing with his acrobatic saves. Nevertheless, Nadal was not to be swayed as he came back with in the 11th game, breaking Monfils’ service with a shot that put him just ahead with 6-5. Once Nadal got the service, he held through until the end, resulting in a 7-5 match.
Regarding his victory, Nadal said, “I have to enjoy this moment… You never know when it will end.”
Nadal has enjoyed a great season so far with his nine Grand Slam titles and seven of eight finals this year alone. He went into the match against Monfils as the heavy favorite. So far, he was able to beat Monfils in six of their last seven matches. His only defeat against the Frenchman was on the hard surface at Doha last year.