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It has been one of the best years of Rafael Nadal’s career on the ATP World Tour. The Spaniard has won his 10th Roland Garros, the US Open, advanced to the Australian Open final and re-claimed his spot atop the Emirates ATP Rankings. Yet, there is no chance that he would look past this week’s China Open in Beijing.
“Every tournament is important,” Nadal said. “Every time that I go to any event, my goal is try to play my best and to try to go for everything, no?”

Perhaps it is that focus and determination that has helped propel the 31 year old to the top of the Emirates ATP Race To London, already clinching his spot in the Nitto ATP Finals with a tour-leading five titles (tied w/ Federer and Zverev) and three finals.
Nadal’s ability to keep bouncing back from health struggles — he ended last season in October due to a wrist injury — nearly a decade after first rising to No. 1 in the world in 2008, has largely been because of the left-hander's ability to stay motivated for every tournament and every individual match.

“I had some injuries, but good thing is I keep having the passion for the game and the love for what I am doing and the spirit to overcome tough situations in terms of physical issues, no? That's the key,” Nadal said. “Of course, the spirit of improvement: every day when I wake up, going on court with the goal of doing something better than what I was doing. At the same time, as I said before, the motivation to keep having chances to do what I really like to do.”
This week, Nadal would really like to win his second title in Beijing, where four of the Top 10 players in the world are competing. The Spaniard faces Lucas Pouille, who defeated Nadal in last year’s US Open fourth round in five sets, in the first round.
“There is a lot of great players. I have a very tough first round against Lucas. Let's see,” Nadal said. “Tomorrow is an important day for me. Is a tough start, a difficult one. Let's see. But I am focused on trying to be ready for tomorrow. I think I practised well, so let's see tomorrow what can happen.”

If Rafael Nadal is to finish as the year-end No. 1 for a fourth time, his recent performances on hard courts will be of critical importance.
Nadal extended his win streak to 12 straight with the China Open title on Sunday, defeating Nick Kyrgios 6-2, 6-1. The Spaniard, who remains undefeated since returning to World No. 1 on 21 August, tightened his grip on the top spot in the Emirates ATP Race To London. Now up to 2,360 points over Roger Federer, he has put himself in prime position to cap his 2017 campaign in No. 1 fashion.
Victory in Beijing gives Nadal his 75th career crown, moving to within two titles of John McEnroe for fourth on the Open Era list. It was his second triumph in the Chinese capital, having previously defeated Guillermo Coria for the 2005 trophy.
The Manacor native, who notched his 60th match win of the season with a semi-final victory over Grigor Dimitrov, added a sixth title this year. He previously emerged victorious at the US Open one month ago, in addition to wins at Roland Garros, the ATP World Tour Masters 1000 events in Monte-Carlo and Madrid, as well as in Barcelona.

Top seed Nadal was a force from the back of the court throughout the one-hour and 32-minute encounter. He saved 22 of 25 break points entering Sunday's clash and would deny all four faced against the Aussie. Kyrgios would strike 20 winners, but was unable to overcome 35 unforced errors.
Nadal was on the attack early and often, earning break chances in six of Kyrgios' seven service games. The 22 year old would be forced to turn aside five break points to open the match, as Nadal struck a pair of sublime drop shot winners to send an early message.
The first break came at 3-2 when Kyrgios netted a drop shot of his own and consecutive double faults would give Nadal the opening set. The Aussie struggled to maintain a high first serve percentage and it proved to be a critical factor. Nadal would break twice more in the second set and eventually converted his first match point after 92 minutes.
Kyrgios entered the encounter on the heels of a 6-2, 7-5 win over Nadal at the ATP World Tour Masters 1000 event in Cincinnati, leveling their FedEx ATP Head2Head at 2-2. But Nadal, who had defeated the World No. 19 on the clay of Madrid earlier this year, would get his revenge on Sunday.
The Spaniard's victory marks the 12th time a player has won an ATP World Toru title after saving match point(s) this year. He had denied two against Lucas Pouille in a first-round thriller.
Kyrgios, meanwhile, was appearing in his second final of the season, having fallen to Dimitrov at the Western & Southern Open in August. One year removed from his last victory in Tokyo, he is now 3-3 in ATP World Tour title matches. He takes home $319,825 in prize money and is in the hunt for a first appearance at the Nitto ATP Finals, moving to 15th position in the Emirates ATP Race To London.

Spaniard overcomes Marin Cilic in two tight sets
Rafael Nadal was made to work, but the top seed advanced to the final of the Shanghai Rolex Masters on a crisp Saturday evening in the Chinese metropolis.
Nadal overcame a dogged effort from Marin Cilic to secure the semi-final victory 7-5, 7-6(3), reaching his 111th final and 10th of the year. It marks the fifth time in his career that he has contested at least 10 title matches in a single season.
With the victory, the 871st of his career, Nadal moves past Andre Agassi for solo sixth place on the Open Era wins list. He will bid for a record 31st ATP World Tour Masters 1000 title against either Roger Federer or Juan Martin del Potro.
On Saturday, Cilic unleashed his forehand with punishing blows to break down the Nadal defence, but could not sustain the level in the critical moments. Nadal benefitted from 40 unforced errors, while striking 23 winners of his own, to reach his second Shanghai final. He previously finished runner-up to Nikolay Davydenko in 2009.

Cilic's serve came under fire immediately and he would be forced to save six break points in his opening two service games. The fourth seed would survive the onslaught, but evenutally conceded the critical break with the set on the line. Cilic squandered a trio of set points at 5-all and Nadal capitalised in the very next game, seizing the initial break and closing out the opener after 67 minutes.
The pair exchanged breaks midway through the second set, but it was Nadal who came up clutch at the business end. The top seed would strike the shot of the match at 4-4 deuce - a running forehand winner off a Cilic sky hook backhand. His Croatian opponent did well to fight back with Nadal serving for the final at 5-4, crushing a forehand winner down the line to draw level. But Nadal hit all the right buttons in the ensuing tie-break, firing a service winner to close it out after two hours and 12 minutes.
With an eye on year-end No. 1 in the Emirates ATP Rankings, the Manacor native extended his win streak to 16 straight, having most recently lifted trophies at the US Open and China Open in Beijing. He is now 5-1 in his FedEx ATP Head2Head against Cilic, earning his second win of the season (Acapulco SF).
Cilic, meanwhile, remains in search of a coveted spot in the Nitto ATP Finals. Currently in fifth position in the Emirates ATP Race To London, with 3,535 points, he is on the brink of punching his ticket to The O2. The 29 year old was appearing in his fifth semi-final in his last six tournaments entered.