Nadal in the chase for year-end No. 1 ranking

Written by: Bob Larson Tennis on 11th June 2013

French Open tennis tournament at Roland Garros

Nadal in the chase for year-end No. 1 ranking

epa03737867 Rafael Nadal of Spain poses with the trophy after winning the men's final match against his compatriot David Ferrer at the French Open tennis tournament at Roland Garros in Paris, France, 09 June 2013. EPA/IAN LANGSDON |

Rafael Nadal is impressed that winning an eighth French Open title now puts him in the chase for the year-end No. 1 ranking. The Spaniard who defeated David Ferrer 6-3, 6-2, 6-3 at Roland Garros, has dropped to fifth in the current ranking list, though, with Ferrer replacing him on fourth.

But time is on the side of Nadal and with just 55 points to defend from now until the end of the season – he missed seven months from July to February with a knee injury – the 27-year old is moving into position to challenge top-ranked Novak Djokovic, who he beat in a thrilling five-set semi-final at Roland Garros last week.

But Nadal insists that chasing ranking points is not in his plans. To prove it, he has returned home and will rest until travelling hopefully to Wimbledon for the Jun 24 start. “That’s (No. 1) not my goal today. I’m in a good position in the point race: a lot of points, and only with nine tournaments (and seven titles). So that’s something amazing.

“Without playing Miami and without playing Australia, today I have 7,000 points on my computer. So that’s much more than what I thought or what I dreamed.”

Nadal warns that his progression is far from assured. “To be No. 1 in this era, you need to play during the whole season because the rest of the players are very competitive. They’re going to be there. I need to keep winning a lot of points if I want to have any chance to be number one at the end of the season.”

Follow 10SBALLS.COM on:

Facebook:

Twitter:

SeabirdT says:

June 11, 2013 at 8:10 am

RT @10sBalls_com: Nadal in the chase for year-end No. 1 ranking: Rafael Nadal is impressed that winning an eighth French … http://t.co/wl…