By Chris Oddo / Monday, November 11, 2013

Rafael Nadal will finish the year as the ATP's player of the year and the world No. 1, but on Monday in London, Novak Djokovic once again claimed the title that has eluded the Spaniard for all these years. Djokovic's 6-3, 6-4 victory over Nadal marks the Serb's third ATP World Tour Finals title, and improves his current stratospheric winning streak to 22 matches.

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For Nadal, who started flat and never really found the scintillating game that guided him to French Open and U.S. Open titles, as well as a career-best five Masters 1000 titles in 2013, it was a disappointing end to a remarkable season. But even the disappointment couldn’t dampen the enthusiasm of the fans, who cheered him loudly during his post-match speech when he thanked them for their support and promised to be back next season.

“It was probably one of the best seasons of my career, and playing the last match of the season in this stadium is very fantastic, even if I didn't have the chance to win today,” Nadal told the crowd after the match.

Djokovic, meanwhile, will head to Belgrade with the hopes of leading Team Serbia to its second Davis Cup title since 2010 next week against the Czech Republic. It may seem like a lot to ask a player to keep chugging long after all the Grand Slams and even the World Tour Finals are over, but on Monday in his comprehensive victory over Nadal, Djokovic displayed a remarkable freshness in his 81st match of 2013.

After a series of heartbreaking defeats in each of the season's final three Grand Slams, Djokovic didn't hang his head down the stretch in 2013. Instead, the six-time Grand Slam champion has approached the season's final months as his personal proving ground, reeling off title after title, and reclaiming the momentum in his spirited, back-and-forth battle for supremacy with Nadal.

On Monday Djokovic was tactically sound from the start, playing error-free tennis and using his freakishly good defense to goad Nadal into errors. The Spaniard's forehand was by all accounts out of whack throughout the match, and Djokovic quickly picked up on this, playing safe and with margin and building traps on a regular basis that the struggling Spaniard couldn't find his way out of.

But even as he struggled, Nadal would not go quietly on this day. He fell behind 3-0 in the early going, but rallied back to level at 3-all.

With Djokovic holding break point two games later, Nadal did all he could to to stay out of harm's way. It wasn't enough. Djokovic played the point of the day, and maybe of the season, when he sprinted the length of the court to track down a Nadal forehand, lofted it high above the Spaniard's head, then came into the net to finish the point off after a series of rapid-fire volleys.

Djokovic would consolidate, serving an ace out wide on his first set point in the next game.

Moments later, Djokovic would strike another decisive blow on his third break point of the third game of the second set, when he hit a perfectly placed forehand return to the left of Nadal that the Spaniard could only sail long.

It gave Djokovic a 2-1 lead, and though Nadal would stay close, saving two break points while serving at 2-4, and then saving match point while serving at 3-5, he would never get the break point he needed.

After saving his second match point with Djokovic serving at 5-4, 40-30, the Serb responded with a 131 MPH ace down the middle. On the next point Nadal would engage in a furious rally, letting fly with his inside-out forehand on several occasions but the defense of Djokovic held fast, finally forcing Nadal to go for a little too much as his last winner attempt sailed just wide of the sideline.

The victory is Djokovic's 17th in 39 career meetings against Nadal, and his second in a row.

Nadal, who finishes the season at 75-7, should be comforted by the fact that he fought back from career-threatening knee issues to once again claim his spot at the pinnacle of tennis in 2013. He may have failed to become the first Spaniard to win this prestigous title since Alex Corretja did so in 1998, but he has proven beyond the shadow of a doubt that he is tennis' premier player in 2013. One match does not change that.

But as has been the case ever since Djokovic emerged as a formidable Grand Slam threat and Nadal's personal kryptonite in 2011, the competition is sure to be fierce between these two rivals in 2014. Djokovic proved that much with his cool, calculated all-court display on Monday. It was Nadal's season, but by taking London by storm for the second straight year, could the Serb be setting the table for a role reversal in 2014?

In September, it didn't seem possible. Just two months later, it very clearly is.