Rafael Nadal is the tennis player of the moment after his amazing US Open title. The Spanish sensation is 1 slam from equalling Roger Federer’s major record (20), and he is inches from overtaking Novak Djokovic as the new world no.1.
7th of October when Nadal will be no.1 in the live rankings, unless…
Nadal is currently ranked no.2 with 9225 points while Novak Djokovic is the actual leader with 9865 points. However, the Serbian sensation has 2600 to defend from now until the rest of the season while Rafa has no points to defend. In fact, the King of Clay decided to cut short his season last year after he withdrew in the US Open semifinal because of his knee.
Djokovic is dealing with an issue to his left shoulder that made him retire in the 4th round of the US Open, and he needs to defend 1000pts in Shanghai where he is the defending champion. Therefore from the 7th of October Nole will have 8865pts (9865-1000) vs. Rafa’s 9225 points. So the Spaniard is expected to commence his run in China as the leader in the live rankings.
Will Djokovic play in Tokyo?
The big question mark is if Nole will compete in Tokyo (ATP500). In fact the world no.1 was scheduled to play in Japan, and if he wins the event, he will get 500 (fresh) points that would keep him in front of Nadal at the beginning of the Shanghai Rolex Masters. In fact, in this case, Djokovic will have 9365 points (9865-1000+500) vs. Nadal’s 9225.
Therefore, the only way for Djokovic to lead the live rankings at the beginning of the ATP1000 in Shanghai is to win the ATP500 in Tokyo.
Will Nadal end the year as world no.1?
At this point, it is rather plausible that Rafa will end the season as the world no.1.In fact, the Mallorcan has a good lead in the year to date rankings over Djokovic (1965 points), and unless the Serbian sensation has an outstanding end of the season, and Rafa implodes in the next few months, the King of Clay should end the year as the deserving world no.1.
Will Nadal’s wedding prevent him from playing in Bercy?
A thorny question will be if Nadal will play the ATP1000 in Bercy. In fact, Rafa is reported to get married on October 19, and the event in Paris will start the 28th. Rafa may need to play the last ATP1000 of the season to secure the points to end the season at the top of the rankings. In this case, he might opt for a short honeymoon.
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 the Spaniard has a 47-6 win-loss record. Nadal conquered 4 titles in 2019 in Rome, at the French Open, in Montreal and at the U.S. Open. Rafael was the finalist at the Australian Open.
Novak Djokovic’s ranking and performance in 2019
At the moment ranked no.1, Novak played his last match on the 1st of September when he lost Stan Wawrinka 6-4 7-5 2-1 ret. in the 4th round in U.S. Open.
This year the Serbian has a 41-8 win-loss record. The Serbian clinched 3 titles in 2019 at the Australian Open, in Madrid and in Wimbledon. Djokovic was the finalist in Rome.
Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic played each other 54 times. The head to head is 28-26 for Djokovic.
The last time that they squared off, Rafael Nadal won 6-0 4-6 6-1 in the final in Rome in 19th May 2019.
Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic |
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