Rafael Nadal Says Novak Djokovic Had Him Dead at 2013 China Open Final

World's No.1 Rafael Nadal believed his archrival Novak Djokovic did extremely well during their final showdown at the recently concluded China Open, admitting the Serb had him in a bad position the entire match.

The 27-year-old Nadal played terrific tennis throughout the tournament until he faced a familiar foe in Djokovic in the championship match. Nadal, who easily secured his spot in the finals after his semis foe Tomas Berdych decided to retire with an injury, could not match Djokovic's tenacity and all-around brilliance as he succumbed to the Serbian netter 6-3, 6-4.

Nadal lost to Djokovic for only the second time this season (the first was in the final of Monte Carlo Masters). However, the Spanish Bull was convinced that Djokovic simply dominated him in their latest duel.

"I didn't see the way to stop him this afternoon. This afternoon he was too strong for me. I didn't play my best match this afternoon, but he played at a very high level with his serve. I was not able to have any chance when I was returning during the whole match", Nadal said in the post-match interview according to Rafael Nadal Fans.com.

Nadal said that Djokovic was able to prevent him from putting spin on the ball by keeping the ball very low.

"He had the ball staying very low. It was very difficult to create spin on this ball. He was able to hit all the balls where he wanted. When that's happening against a player like Novak, you are dead. You don't have not one chance," said Nadal, who still leads Djokovic in their head-to-head confrontations 22-16.

Despite the loss, Nadal successfully returned to the top of the ATP World rankings for the first time since 2011 by reaching the finals of the China Open.

"I am back at the No. 1, something that I really thought that I would never have the chance to be back there," Rafa said. "I'm playing one of the best seasons of my career, probably one of the more emotional years, if not the most for so many facts."

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