In the last eight months, Rafael Nadal didn’t come close to relinquishing the no. 2 ranking in tennis. The quality of his play, however, was no better than what one would expect from a man ranked no. 20. From last year’s Wimbledon final through the end of last month, he lost 11 matches, eight to players ranked outside the top 10, and didn’t win a title. He beat two top 10 players, both in the same tournament, at the year-end Masters Cup. Their names? Tommy Robredo and Nikolay Davydenko.

At last, the slump is over. Nadal started slowly at the first Masters event of the season last week, the Pacific Life Open in Indian Wells, Calif. But he finished stronger than he had since last summer, winning every set he played and smothering one of his talented young peers, the 19-year-old Novak Djokovic, 6-2, 7-5 in yesterday’s final. With the clay court season a month away, Nadal looks primed for another stellar spring (he’s won 62 consecutive matches on clay).

Djokovic received a lot of attention this week, and deservedly so. When Roger Federer lost in the second round, ending a 41-match winning streak, Djokovic, who would have played Federer in the quarterfinals, took advantage and showed why he may one day be the world’s best player. The Serbian’s strokes are compact and clean, at times reminiscent of Andre Agassi’s, yet explosive and “safe” (lots of topspin on the forehand); he serves with uncommon smoothness (not as smoothly as Federer, but even a slight comparison is a compliment); he moves exceptionally well (he hails from a family of skiers and soccer players); and he never lacks for intensity.

Djokovic does not volley well, but the fact that he has hired former doubles champion Mark Woodforde to improve his net game speaks volumes about his ambition. He hit a few decent volleys yesterday, though one soft backhand stab gave Nadal an easy passing shot for the only break of serve in the second set. Djokovic could easily develop a reliable volley: his understanding of court positioning is excellent, and he belts his approach shots. In terms of mental fitness, he is far ahead of other men his age, and his youthful tendency toward silly boasts and gamesmanship (including a few questionable injuries) seems to have dissipated. His performance last week puts him in the top 10 for the first time (he’s at no. 10), and he should prove a serious threat as the season progresses. Expect to see him in the Masters Cup this year, perhaps at the expense of James Blake if the American continues to struggle (he lost in the third round last week).

Pretty impressive for a 19-year-old, until we remember that Nadal, now a winner of 18 titles, including two French Opens and seven in Masters events, is not quite a year older (Djokovic turns 20 on May 22; Nadal turns 21 on June 3). The Spaniard holds the record for consecutive weeks at the no. 2 ranking, has never lost a match at the French Open, and has a winning record against Roger Federer. He’s a phenom in the way Boris Becker and Bjorn Borg were, and last week’s performance suggests he is improving.

Prior to this tournament, Nadal had struggled with his confidence. But last week there were fewer lapses into timid play that so often cause his topspin forehands to fall short, and give his opponents a choice of shots. His serve, recently inconsistent by his standards (65% on first serves this year) became steadier after a slight adjustment to his motion (Nadal served close to 90ffi in a semifinal thrashing of Andy Roddick, whose strokes looked feeble in rally after rally). Most important, his forehand had more life than it has had in months. It usually landed deep, bounced high, and left its unlucky opponents scrambling wide of the doubles alley. As Djokovic learned early, if one lets Nadal play forehand tennis, rather than forcing him to hit backhands, there is steep price to pay.

Nadal started the match with eight straight points and swiped 14 of the first 16. At 4-0, Djokovic began to settle down, and he had a few break chances in the second set. He missed his best one with an impatient drop shot after the longest rally of the match. It would have been a spectacular winner had it not floated wide; if he had decided to stretch the point for a few more seconds and played a higher percentage shot, we might have seen a third set yesterday. But that’s the beauty of Nadal, whose improving offensive skills are mere adornments to a masterful defense that causes opponents to crumble. It’s nice to see him hoist a trophy again.

***

FACTS AND FICTIONS

Jimmy Connors has earned praise for his coaching of Andy Roddick, and it’s clear that the American’s backhand, especially down the line, has improved under Connors’s tutelage. But you might be surprised to learn that Connors has had no success, at least this season, in teaching Roddick how to return serve. The American remains one of the worst returners on tour: through 15 matches prior to last week’s tournament in Indian Wells, Roddick had won 20% of his return games, 3% less than young American Sam Querrey (Federer has won 34%). He ranks third-to-last, among 86 players, in points won against his opponent’s first serve (23%).

tperrotta@nysun.com