Despite his premature loss at the Australian Open in Melbourne, Rafael Nadal is obviously very far away from giving up his number one ranking.
His achievement of even winning three Grand Slams in a row was an amazing streak.
His start to the season, his journey to the Australian Open, has been a struggle for him.
He had a virus in Doha, which hampered him both there and then for the first few rounds in Melbourne.
It may even have weakened him so much that it caused him muscles to give up, the tear in the thigh preventing him from playing at 100 per cent against David Ferrer.
But despite this, the Spaniard impressed again by his ability to win when he's not at his best.
He played brilliantly against Ernests Gulbis in Doha and again at the start of his Australian Open where he was sweating more than usual, proof maybe of a fever being still there.
More than ever, Rafa is showing how much of a huge champ he is.
But he's also showing that his only limit is his fitness, which once again gave up on him due to due to the tough challenge he asks of his body because of the way he plays.
But, compared with the past, I reckon that Rafa has grown up; he now plays a lighter schedule in order to protect his body, which is the most precious gift he has if he wants to remain at the top of the world rankings.