Congratulations to Rafa Nadal for becoming the ATP World #1 player. He takes over the top ranking from Andy Murray who was #1 for 41 weeks. While his ascent to the pinnacle of men's tennis was assured earlier in the week when Roger Federer pulled out of Cincinnati - either Roger or Rafa were sure to supplant Andy - it ended up being a bit anticlimactic as Rafa was ousted in the quarterfinals by Nick Kyrgios (who eventually lost in the finals to Grigor Dimitrov). Nevertheless, the number 1 ranking reminds us how incredible Rafa's year has been, including a 10th title at the French Open and in Barcelona and Monte Carlo.
This stint atop the world rankings could be quite short-lived since Roger Federer is expected to overtake him after the US Open, where Roger is the favorite to win (or at the very least, to get further in the tournament than Rafa since it's a court that favors the Swiss over the Spaniard). Nevertheless, this is still a major accomplishment for Nadal. After being plagued by several injuries over the last three years, many had wondered if his best days were past him. Thankfully, they aren't. While we might not see peak Nadal as often as we did several years ago, it is still amazing how he continues to show us why he is one of the greatest tennis players in history.
This stint atop the world rankings could be quite short-lived since Roger Federer is expected to overtake him after the US Open, where Roger is the favorite to win (or at the very least, to get further in the tournament than Rafa since it's a court that favors the Swiss over the Spaniard). Nevertheless, this is still a major accomplishment for Nadal. After being plagued by several injuries over the last three years, many had wondered if his best days were past him. Thankfully, they aren't. While we might not see peak Nadal as often as we did several years ago, it is still amazing how he continues to show us why he is one of the greatest tennis players in history.
No comments:
Post a Comment