What’s the story?
Rafael Nadal won his 29th Masters 1000 title and 70th career title at the Monte-Carlo Masters last week, defeating compatriot Albert Ramos-Vinolas in the final. The Spaniard’s comeback season is turning out to be a pretty good one as Nadal reached the final of the Australian Open as well as the Miami Masters. Nadal’s win at the Monte-Carlo Masters also means that he is very much in the race for the year-end World No.1.
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The Spanish ace is currently second in the Race for the year end World No.1 with 3035 Race behind Roger Federer who is first with 4045 Race points.With Federer taking some time off to rest and is not completely sure regarding participating in the French Open, Nadal has every chance of overtaking him by the time he rejoins the Tour as he could garner a total of 2500 points provided he wins the Barcelona Open, Madrid Masters, and the Rome Masters.
In case you didn’t know
Nadal won his first Masters 1000 title in 12 months by winning the Monte-Carlo Masters by beating compatriot Albert Ramos-Vinolas in straight sets in the final a few days back. This was Nadal’s 10th title at the Monte-Carlo Masters, thus becoming the first man in the Open Era to win 10 titles at the same tournament. It was also a record 50th clay-court title for the Spaniard.Nadal had previously reached the final of the Australian Open and the Miami Masters, losing to Roger Federer on both occasions; in five sets at the Australian Open and in straight sets at the Miami Masters.
The heart of the matter
Nadal’s win took him to 3235 points in the yearly ATP race rankings, 810 points behind Roger Federer. With Federer out of Tour for a few weeks, Nadal’s biggest obstacles are bound to be Andy Murray and Novak Djokovic who have not shown their best form this year.Both Murray and Djokovic are way behind in the yearly ATP race rankings, being ranked 11th and 20th respectively. Both players will have a huge mountain to climb if they are to reach the top of the yearly Race rankings as since 2010, only Rafael Nadal has been able to finish the year as No.1 after being outside the top 5 of the race rankings after the Miami Masters.
What’s next?
Nadal will now be competing at the Barcelona Open as the second seed and will be looking to win his 10th title at the tournament.
Author’s Take
Nadal has been in very good form this year and provided he maintains this throughout the season, not only will he be the year end No.1 but might also have a shot at being World No.1 as well.
What is the foot injury that has troubled Rafael Nadal over the years? Check here
