Rafael Nadal is currently in Mallorca where he is training to get ready for the American summer. The Spanish Legend will try to have a deep run in Montreal and Cincinnati before assaulting the US Open.
Djokovic, Federer not playing in Montreal
Rafa received the “good news” that the other 2 Big3, Djokovic and Federer, will not compete in Montreal. This means that Nadal will be the hot favorite to win the title in Canada, and he will also have an excellent chance to improve his ranking.
Nadal’s ranking
Rafa reached the semifinal in Wimbledon after he lost to Roger Federer in 4 sets. However, the Spanish sensation is extremely close to Novak Djokovic in the year to date rankings as he is just 500 points behind him (6725 vs. 6225). This means that if Rafa reaches at least the final in Canada, he will overtake Djokovic as the new world no.1 in the year to date rankings. Of course, the Serbian is still leading strong the “normal rankings” with 12,415 points vs. Nadal’s 7,945, but he has many points to defend in the 2nd half of the season.
Rafa is the defending champion in Canada and he has won the Rogers Cup 4 times (2005, 2008, 2014, and 2018).
Djokovic chasing Federer
Novak Djokovic is well-known to aim at beating Roger Federer’s record as the tennis players that stayed at the top of the rankings for the most extended period of time. Roger’s record is of 310 weeks while Nole has been topping the log for 261 weeks. This means that the Serb need to be at the top of the rankings for 1 year to “beat” the Swiss Maestro.
| NADAL WON THE TITLE IN TORONTO LAST YEAR |
| Embed from Getty Images |
