Rafael Nadal, one of the greatest tennis stars of the open era replaces Roger Federer at the top of ATP rankings
By Blessing Ogunli
For the first time in 235 weeks, which translate into four years and 189 days, there will be a change at the topmost position of the Association of Tennis Professionals, ATP, World Rankings. Starting from 18 August, Rafael Nadal who has been world number two in the past 158 weeks will swap places with Roger Federer, who had been world number one since 2 February 2004. Nadal thus becomes the 24th man to top the ATP world rankings.
For Nadal, it is a dream come true and a well deserved achievement, just five years after entering the ATP top 50 ranking in 2003.
“Every player wants to be number one. I would love to be number one, but I am number two presently. I am very happy for being number two, because with my titles, with my points, in a normal situation I, well, would have been number one before. So I think I have to be happy, very happy…if I am number one or number two. Because if I am number two, it’s because in front of me there is an amazing player like Roger,” he said before he moved up in the rankings.
Indeed, Nadal deserves his current status. Apart from the continued improvement of his game on clay, Nadal has become an all court specialist. This development prompted tennis buffs to name the Majorca, Spain-born teenager as the most potent threat to Federer’s firm grip on the racquet sport.Nadal’s attainment of the top spot has made him the winner in the fierce rivalry between both stars that have spawned over three years. Going by the number of trophies he has won, the Spaniard has garnered more points than Federer this year. To many, Nadal became the unofficial world number one the moment he denied Federer the French Open title and followed it at Wimbledon few weeks later.
This year has been a disastrous one for Federer as he has struggled to find his bearings. He has been struggling to regain his aura of invincibility since he started the year with mononucleosis, a disease that causes long periods of weakness in individuals.
“Look, he is doing well and I have done well in the past. This year was hard, I guess, with the start of the year. But nevertheless, I still think it is been a good year. I just hope I can show it now at the Olympics and the U.S. Open,” he said.
Federer has won only two titles this year, in Estoril and Halle. He lost in the semi-finals of the Australian Open and in addition to his defeats by Nadal in Paris and at Wimbledon, he has suffered several shocking losses. One of such was his third defeat in the hands of Ivo Karlovic in the Cincinnati Masters which would have propelled Nadal to number immediately had he (Nadal) won the event. But Nadal lost in the semi final to Novak Djokovic.
This development caused the ATP to delay the release of the new rankings until the pairings for the US Open are announced in early August. This will allow the points both players got at the event last year to drop out of the system. Before the Cincinnati Masters, only 300 points separated both players.
However, while Federer will be losing the 350 points he garnered by reaching the final in Toronto last year, Nadal will be losing 225. With Federer losing 125 points more than his rival, Nadal automatically becomes number one, as he advanced more that the Federer at Cincinnati. Born 3 June, 1986, Nadal spent his early years shuffling between playing tennis and football as he was a gifted footballer who dreamt of playing for Real Madrid.
However, in 2000, Nadal’s uncle and coach asked him to drop football and concentrate on tennis, which he did grudgingly. However, eight years of that sacrifice has earned him the top spot in tennis rankings. Nadal turned professional in 2001, winning for the first time in a second-tier challenger event in Seville, aged just 15.
Comment