Nadal busts out of slump with vintage performance in Monte Carlo

It had been a long time since Rafael Nadal looked like the King of Clay, the rampaging hurricane that used to blow away all comers each time he stepped on the crushed red brick.

His performance in Sunday's scintillating Monte Carlo Masters final, when he outlasted a terrifyingly zoned-in Gael Monfils in three sets, was as close as he's looked to the Rafa of old since capturing his ninth French Open title in 2014.

There were still some signs of the disconcerting slippage that's plagued Nadal since that last major title. His forehand was still erratic and often lacked for sting. His second serve still got eaten up. He still looked petrified of approaching, eschewing several golden opportunities to finish points at the net, and duffing volleys when he tried. He still got tight in big moments, twice failing to consolidate breaks, including while serving for the first set.

On the whole, though, this was as good as he's looked in two years. He found the depth on his groundstrokes he's so often lacked during his recent swoon. His cross-court backhand did yeoman's work, consistently dragging Monfils out wide and opening up the court. His side-to-side movement was explosive; his defense on the slower surface, impregnable.

Monfils had to crank his offense up to top gear and go for broke to try to hit around Nadal. With a forehand that was absolutely popping off, he succeeded in doing so surprisingly often. Some of these baseline winners were obscene:

It was the first Masters final for the electric, oft-enigmatic Frenchman, and, for two sets at least, he didn't disappoint.

After Monfils stole the second - the first set he'd ever taken on clay against Nadal - to push the match the distance, one could imagine the fear and doubt creeping in. Deciding sets, once Nadal's greatest strength, has turned into a torture chamber for him in big matches.

This time, there was no panic, no let-up. While Monfils keeled over sucking wind, Nadal seemed to grow stronger, smelling blood and pouncing. As Monfils' feet stopped moving, Nadal's pressed down on his opponent's neck.

While the first two sets took two hours and 14 minutes combined, the third was over in a blink. Nadal won it 6-0, his first deciding-set bagel since February 2015. He sealed the victory with a patented running forehand down the line, before dropping to his knees.

It's the ninth time Nadal won the Monte Carlo title, but the first since 2012. It's his 48th career title on clay, but his first since winning Argentina (a 250-level event) in March 2015. It's his 28th career Masters title - equaling Novak Djokovic for most all time - but his first since winning Madrid in May 2014. It's his first title of any kind since last August in Hamburg.

In other words, it's a sizable monkey Nadal just tossed off his back, and it should relieve and relax him some as the tour plunges into the heart of clay season. It's too early to put the crown back on his head - especially considering he didn't have to face Djokovic - but at the least, Nadal's terrific tournament suggests the doom and gloom portended earlier in the season was premature.

The King of Clay may have been deposed, but he's not dead yet.