Novak Djokovic is currently the no. 1 player in the ATP rankings. The ranking, based on the performances of male tennis players over the last 52 weeks, have Djokovic and Rafael Nadal neck and neck with each other. The 32-year old Serbia currently has 9,865 points while his tennis rival 9,225. The story, however, is different in the Race to London rankings.
The state of the Race to London rankings
As the end of the tennis season inches closer, Nadal still leads Djokovic in the Race to London tally. There is a 1,960-point difference between the Spanish tennis icon and Djokovic star, which means that the Serbian will have to perform well in the upcoming tournaments to end the year at the top spot.
The Race to London rankings is calculated in a year to date fashion. This means that the only ATP tournament results that are taken into consideration are those played starting January 1. The rankings will become the basis of whoever qualifies to compete in the ATP Finals in November. The tournament, arguably the most prestigious after the four Grand Slams, will be held in the O2 Arena in London.
With a pretty big lead, it is looking like Nadal may finish the year as the world no. 1. It can be remembered that the Spanish player started to pull ahead of the 2019 Australian Open winner in the Race to London rankings in August after he won the Canadian Masters 1000 event in Montreal. At this point, Nadal and Djokovic’s place in the ATP Finals are already secured.
Djokovic’s chances of getting to no. 1 over Nadal
There is, however, good news for Djokovic fans as Nadal will not play in Tokyo’s Japan Open or in Beijing. It also seems like the Spaniard will not participate in the Shanghai Masters tournament.
If the Serbian player takes home the championship for both, he will get 500 points for Tokyo and 1000 points for Shanghai. That gives him a fighting chance to take over the no. 1 slot in the Race to London rankings. The Serbian has a good chance of performing well in the upcoming tournaments because this section of the tennis season is usually his bailiwick.
Novak’s debut in the Japan Open signifies his seriousness in making an impact in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. The tennis icon, so far, only has a bronze medal from the 2008 Beijing Games.
Djokovic eyeing Federer’s record
It also seems that Djokovic has higher dreams as he wants to take the Swiss’ record of having the most weeks at no. 1. Right now, the Serbian ranks third in the list with 271, behind Federer’s 310 weeks and Pete Sampras’ 286 weeks.
Novak Djokovic’s ranking and performance in 2019
Currently the world no.1, Novak played his last match on the 1st of September when he lost to Stan Wawrinka 6-4 7-5 2-1 ret. in the 4th round in U.S. Open.
This year Djokovic has a 41-8 win-loss record. Djokovic conquered 3 titles in 2019 at the Australian Open, in Madrid and in Wimbledon. The Serbian was the finalist in Rome.
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Rafael Nadal’s ranking and performance in 2019
Ranked no.2, Nadal played his last match on the 8th of September when he beat Daniil Medvedev 7-5 6-3 5-7 4-6 6-4 in the final in U.S. Open to win his 84th career title.
This year Rafael has a 47-6 win-loss record. The Spaniard clinched 4 titles in 2019 in Rome, at the French Open, in Montreal and at the U.S. Open. Nadal was the finalist at the Australian Open.
Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal played each other 54 times. The head to head is 28-26 for Djokovic.
The last time that they locked horns, Rafael Nadal won 6-0 4-6 6-1 in the final in Rome in 19th May 2019.
Competing for no.1 |
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