LONDON — Rafael Nadal's season ended with a jolting loss to world number one Novak Djokovic on Saturday but after a worrying early-season rankings slide the Spaniard is happy to be back in the big league of men's tennis.
The 29-year-old will end the year as world number five and with his tally of grand slam titles stuck on 14 after failing to land one of the big four titles for the first time since 2004.
It is more than a decade since the Mallorcan left-hander ended a year ranked outside the top four but, having slumped to 10th in June after a demoralising loss to Djokovic in the French Open quarter-finals, he is heading back in the right direction.