Rafael Nadal secured its fourth Davis Cup victory, Nadal defeated Jan Hájek in the first Davis Cup dead rubber of his career. Nadal finished the year as No. 2 for the fourth time in five years. Nadal won the Golden Bagel Award for the third time in 2009, with nine 6–0 sets during the year. Nadal began the year by participating in the Capitala World Tennis Championship in Abu Dhabi. In the final, Nadal defeated Robin Söderling in straight sets. Nadal participated in the Qatar ExxonMobil Open ATP 250 event in Doha, where he lost in the finals to Nikolay Davydenko. In
2013 French Open – Men's Singles 2013 French Open – Men's Singles Rafael Nadal was the three-time defending champion and successfully defended his title by defeating compatriot, and good friend, David Ferrer who reached his first Grand Slam final 6–3, 6–2, 6–3. Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal were placed in the same half of the draw at a Grand Slam tournament for the first time since the 2010 French Open. In their semifinal, they played a notably long match which lasted 4:37 hours and was dubbed one of the greatest matches ever to have been played and the best clay court match ever. Nadal eventually came