Two weeks prior to the Australian Open, Nadal officially withdrew from the tournament citing a stomach virus.
Nadal's withdrawal saw him drop out of the ATP's Top Four for the first time since 2005.
Playing in his first tournaments in South America since 2005, Nadal made his comeback at the VTR Open in Chile, where he was upset by Argentine No.
73 Horacio Zeballos in the final.
At the Brasil Open, Nadal reached the final, where he defeated David Nalbandian.
In the title match of the Abierto Mexicano Telcel in Acapulco, Nadal defeated David Ferrer, losing just two games in the match.


Nadal then returned to the American hard courts, playing the Indian Wells Masters as the fifth seed.
He lost only one set, and defeated No.
2 Roger Federer and No.
6 Tomáš Berdych before beating Juan Martín del Potro in the final.
After withdrawing from Miami, Nadal attempted to defend his title at the Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters, but was beaten by Djokovic in straight sets.
He then won his eight title at the Barcelona Open.
Nadal went on to win the Mutua Madrid Open, beating Stanislas Wawrinka in the final.

 In May, he defeated Roger Federer for his 7th championship at the 2013 Rome Masters.
These victories raised his ranking to No.
4.

Nadal won the 2013 French Open after beating Novak Djokovic in the semifinal and David Ferrer in the final, breaking the record for the most match wins in the tournament in the process with his 59th match victory.
His match with Djokovic is widely considered one of the greatest clay court matches ever played, as Nadal came back from down a break in the fifth set to take out a hard-fought 4-hour, 37-minute victory.
Nadal then lost his first-round match at the 2013 Wimbledon Championships in straight sets to unseeded Belgian Steve Darcis (ranked No.
135), the first time he had ever lost in the first round of a Grand Slam.

In August, Nadal won a close semifinal match in Montreal, denying Djokovic his fourth Rogers Cup title.
Nadal proceeded to win the title after beating Milos Raonic in the final in straight sets.
He won his 26th ATP Masters 1000 in Cincinnati on Sunday 18 August after beating John Isner in the final.
Nadal concluded a brilliant North American hard court season with his 4th hard court title of the year, defeating Djokovic at the 2013 US Open final in four sets, bringing his Grand Slam count to 13 and giving him a male tennis record paycheck of $3.6 million.

Later in September, Nadal helped Spain secure their Davis Cup World Group Playoff spot for 2014, with a victory against Sergiy Stakhovsky and a doubles win with Marc Lopez.
In October, he reached the final of the China Open, guaranteeing he would be back to the No.
1 ranking.
In the final, he was beaten by Djokovic in straight sets.
At the 2013 Shanghai Rolex Masters, he reached the semifinals but was defeated by Del Potro.
In November, Nadal played his final event of the season in London at the 2013 ATP World Tour Finals where he secured the year-end No.
1 spot.
He beat David Ferrer, Stanislas Wawrinka and Tomáš Berdych in the round robin stage to set up a semifinal victory over Roger Federer.
Nadal met Djokovic in the final, losing in straight sets.
Two weeks prior to the Australian Open, Nadal officially withdrew from the tournament citing a stomach virus. Nadal's withdrawal saw him drop out of the ATP's Top Four for the first time since 2005. Playing in his first tournaments in South America since 2005, Nadal made his comeback at the VTR Open in Chile, where he was upset by Argentine No. 73 Horacio Zeballos in the final. At the Brasil Open, Nadal reached the final, where he defeated David Nalbandian. In the title match of the Abierto Mexicano Telcel in Acapulco, Nadal defeated David Ferrer, losing just two games in the match.

Nadal then returned to the American hard courts, playing the Indian Wells Masters as the fifth seed. He lost only one set, and defeated No. 2 Roger Federer and No. 6 Tomáš Berdych before beating Juan Martín del Potro in the final. After withdrawing from Miami, Nadal attempted to defend his title at the Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters, but was beaten by Djokovic in straight sets. He then won his eight title at the Barcelona Open. Nadal went on to win the Mutua Madrid Open, beating Stanislas Wawrinka in the final. 
 In May, he defeated Roger Federer for his 7th championship at the 2013 Rome Masters. These victories raised his ranking to No. 4.
Nadal won the 2013 French Open after beating Novak Djokovic in the semifinal and David Ferrer in the final, breaking the record for the most match wins in the tournament in the process with his 59th match victory. His match with Djokovic is widely considered one of the greatest clay court matches ever played, as Nadal came back from down a break in the fifth set to take out a hard-fought 4-hour, 37-minute victory. Nadal then lost his first-round match at the 2013 Wimbledon Championships in straight sets to unseeded Belgian Steve Darcis (ranked No. 135), the first time he had ever lost in the first round of a Grand Slam.
In August, Nadal won a close semifinal match in Montreal, denying Djokovic his fourth Rogers Cup title. Nadal proceeded to win the title after beating Milos Raonic in the final in straight sets. He won his 26th ATP Masters 1000 in Cincinnati on Sunday 18 August after beating John Isner in the final. Nadal concluded a brilliant North American hard court season with his 4th hard court title of the year, defeating Djokovic at the 2013 US Open final in four sets, bringing his Grand Slam count to 13 and giving him a male tennis record paycheck of $3.6 million.
Later in September, Nadal helped Spain secure their Davis Cup World Group Playoff spot for 2014, with a victory against Sergiy Stakhovsky and a doubles win with Marc Lopez. In October, he reached the final of the China Open, guaranteeing he would be back to the No. 1 ranking. In the final, he was beaten by Djokovic in straight sets. At the 2013 Shanghai Rolex Masters, he reached the semifinals but was defeated by Del Potro. In November, Nadal played his final event of the season in London at the 2013 ATP World Tour Finals where he secured the year-end No. 1 spot. He beat David Ferrer, Stanislas Wawrinka and Tomáš Berdych in the round robin stage to set up a semifinal victory over Roger Federer. Nadal met Djokovic in the final, losing in straight sets.
Rafael Nadal