Past Melog rankings: 2013

The biggest story of men's tennis in 2013 was Rafael Nadal.

Nadal was injured at Wimbledon in 2012, and missed the remainder of the season. The ailment kept him off the court through the 2013 Australian Open, leaving him to make his comeback in February on the clay courts of South America. He reached the final in his first event back, then won the next two, highlighted by a thrashing of David Ferrer in Acapulco. The season shifted temporarily to hard courts next, and Rafa didn't miss a beat, dropping only two sets on the way to the Masters title at Indian Wells.

Up next was European clay season, and Nadal performed with typical excellence on his favorite surface; he lost the Monte Carlo final to World #1 Novak Djokovic, but rebounded with titles in Barcelona, Madrid, and Rome. He would be drawn to face Djokovic in the semifinals at the French Open, and prevailed in a classic match, 9-7 in the fifth set. He then dismissed Ferrer in perfunctory straight sets to take yet another Roland Garros title, the eighth of his career.

And then he lost to Steve Darcis in the first round at Wimbledon, and it seemed as though the second half of the season might not treat him quite so well as the first.

That impression was short-lived. Nadal charged to Masters titles in Montreal and Cincinnati, his fourth and fifth Masters crowns of the year, and then thoroughly dominated the US Open, dropping only two sets and capping his run with a victory over Djokovic in the final. He reclaimed the #1 ranking by reaching the final in Beijing (losing to Djokovic), and posted solid (albeit title-free) results of the rest of the year (semis in Shanghai and Paris and the final at the World Finals). It was enough to secure his third finish as the ATP's #1 player, all of which have come in non-consecutive years.

So let's see what Melog thinks of Rafa's resurgence. Just like last time, the table will include every player who was in either Melog's top 75 or the ATP's.