The former crown prince of tennis is now the "King of Australia'' - to quote one Spanish newspaper headline - after outlasting Roger Federer in five gritty sets in the Australian Open final Sunday for his sixth Grand Slam title.
Now, Nadal can look ahead to Roland Garros, where he already controls center court.
"Everything was very special,'' the Spaniard said. "I didn't have time yet to enjoy the title because I am too tired.''
There will be plenty of time for that.
Not quite the way Federer envisioned things when he started a run to what he hoped would be his record-tying 14th Grand Slam championship. The 27-year-old Swiss star, renowned for his placid demeanor on court, began sobbing afterward during the awards ceremony.
"God, it's killing me,'' lamented Federer, who has said he still can't get used to hearing himself introduced as the second-ranked player in the world after a record 237 weeks at the top.
Nadal unseated him last August.
He had been right behind Federer much of that time but was mostly considered a clay-court specialist, winning his fourth straight French Open title last year. Then he broke Federer's stranglehold on Wimbledon and went on to take gold at the Beijing Olympics.
Federer, who had to overcome a bout of mononucleosis early last year, rallied to win the U.S. Open on a hard surface and looked ready to match Pete Sampras' mark for Slam supremacy.
Despite winning Wimbledon and the French Open last year, the 22-year-old Nadal came to Melbourne Park as something of a question mark after a sore knee forced him to miss the season-ending Masters Cup, then Spain's Davis Cup final against Argentina.
He quickly proved he was as good - and hungry - as ever.
And the hard surface in Rod Laver Arena suited him just fine.
The Spaniard raced through his first five matches without dropping a set. Then came an epic semifinal in which Nadal outlasted good friend and fellow left-hander Fernando Verdasco in five sets that lasted an Australian Open record 5 hours, 14 minutes.
Some wondered whether Nadal could recover in time for the final.
No problem for arguably the fittest man on tour, even though he needed 4 hours, 22 minutes to beat Federer 7-5, 3-6, 7-6 (3), 3-6, 6-2.
In fact, Nadal was as sharp as ever at the end, committing only two unforced errors in the deciding fifth set. Federer, meanwhile, fell apart in a cascade of errors. The frustration was too much as he broke down in front of the crowd after a fan shouted out: "I love you Federer!''
"In the first moment you're disappointed, you're shocked, you're sad,'' Federer explained later. "Then all of a sudden, it overwhelms you. The problem is you can't go in the locker room and just take it easy and take a cold shower. You're stuck out there. It's the worst feeling.''
Nadal tried to offer some words of consolation.
"Roger, sorry for today,'' he said. "I really know how you feel right now. Remember, you're a great champion, you're one of the best in history.''
Just not the best right now.
Nadal has now won five of the seven Grand Slam finals he's played against Federer and is 13-6 overall against the Swiss star.
Victory at the French Open would put him halfway to winning all four Slams in the same year - a feat last accomplished 40 years ago by Laver, who handed him the winner's trophy.
"To receive this trophy from Rod Laver is a dream for me,'' Nadal said.
The final culminated a tournament where the tennis was occasionally overshadowed by other story lines - the hottest three-day stretch on record in Melbourne, a clash between Serbian and Bosnian fans and a streaker during a doubles match involving the Williams sisters.
Nadal, Federer and Serena Williams kept bringing the focus back to the action.
Williams won her 10th Grand Slam singles title and regained the No. 1 ranking by routing Dinara Safina in the women's final Saturday. Overall, she raised her Grand Slam haul to 20 by winning women's doubles with sister Venus for their eighth title together, and she also has two mixed doubles crowns.
Williams, looking much fitter after what she has called her toughest-ever offseason training regimen - will go to the French Open on a two-Slam winning streak after taking the U.S. Open last September.
It also will be Federer's next chance at No. 14. But while he has improved his game on clay, Nadal will be the prohibitive favorite.
Just what one might expect of the king.
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