Rafael Nadal US Open 2011: No Test Too Tall for Spanish Giant Nadal

Rafael Nadal had the best part of his game put to the limit. David Nalbandian strained his endurence. In the end, he laid a beat down on exhaust and exertion, just as he does with all adversity. 

Rafael Nadal is a fighter. He is a relentless foe that continues to pummel the ball when it seems he has nothing left. It is his heart and passion that has me convinced the 2011 US Open is his. 

Ahead of his Sunday clash with tennis veteran, Nalbandian, I worried that Nadal was heading into a trap. Nalbandian was the clever vet that would run Nadal ragged, and he did. 

After going to the absolute limit on Sunday, Nadal needed a breather to work out some blisters. Then he later collapsed in his Spanish-language presser. 

The 7-6 (5), 6-1, 7-5 victory looks great on the stat-line. You only had to watch Nadal grimace in his press conference interview and slide from the comfort of his seat. His body had taken on a grueling task. He may have won, but Nalbandian got the last laugh. 

Nadal now heads into the quarterfinals to face Gilles Muller. Nadal, in perfect macho form, shrugged off what looked to be a very painful ordeal. 

"

It was just cramping in the right leg, in the front and in the back. It was very painful, that’s all. I’ll train normally. It was a normal cramp that could’ve happened anywhere, but it’s just bad luck that it happened in the pressroom.

"

Nadal did what he always does when he won Sunday; he passed a test. The tennis world is rife with stout players to measure one's self. 

Nadal continues to be the man with a big looming target on his back, despite Novak Djokovic holding the distinction of number-one player in the world. 

It carries far more cache to have beaten the legendary Spaniard, and his body is starting to show the signs of a man that has received the absolute best of every opponent that stood before him. 

The thought is that a player that drives so deep into every tournament has to suffer a swift decline at some point. The same player that won three of the four Grand Slams in 2010 is threatening to take two in 2011. 

A lesser man would have crumbled under the added exhaustion of tournament runs that largely last until the bitter end, not Nadal. He has continued to take on the best in the game, and more often than any other, comes away on top.

To get the last Grand Slam of 2011, Nadal will have to wage through a gauntlet of who's who in men's tennis. The last match with Nalbandian will seem like a walk in the park with what the next few matches will present.

Gilles Mueller presents a player unimpressed with who he is playing. The unranked Mueller has taken his prior opponents to the brink as pertains to endurance.

Nadal will be having his feel of Potassium ahead of the Tuesday clash. After that, it could be a range of top-shelf talent including names like; Andy Roddick, Andy Murray, Novak Djokovic, or his time-tested foe, Roger Federer.

One thing remains abundantly clear. As Nadal wins, the challenges become more arduous and the opponents more stout.

The fascinating thing about Nadal is that he welcomes every last drop of sweat.

The schedule and nature of tennis demands the most successful athletes to commit every fiber of their being. Nadal has had to do that multiple times, every year.  

Just when you thought he has had enough, he comes back stronger. Rafael Nadal is the best in the world, because he never gives up, or gives in, not to himself or the whims of his opponent. 

That is why his defense of the US Open will be a successful one.