You would not have blamed Rafael Nadal for wanting to throw in the towel on 2015 after his third-round exit at the US Open in September.
The defeat to Fabio Fognini confirmed this as the worst year of Nadal’s professional career as for the first time since 2005 he ended a year without winning a grand slam title.
This appeared to be the season that confirmed the end of the Spaniard as a major force. Injuries looked as if they had finally caught up with him and his searing forehand had lost its zip.
But, whisper it quietly, Nadal, the winner of 14 majors, may not be done quite yet. He reached the final in Beijing last week before losing to Novak Djokovic, but in Shanghai he has really shone.
He claimed wins over Milos Raonic and Stan Wawrinka in his run to the last four, but it was the manner of his win over the latter in the last eight that stood out.
It was vintage Nadal. He dominated the world No 4 and French Open champion, and looked to have rediscovered the power in his groundstrokes that has been lacking for much of the year.
Now, this may be a false dawn. It is just two tournaments in the tail-end of the season.
But there was enough on show in Shanghai to show Nadal is most definitely not done yet, and that while he is not getting back to the top of the game with Djokovic in the form he currently is in, he can certainly have a more competitive 2016.
gcaygill@thenational.ae
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