Rafael Nadal has Jimmy Connors record in his sights and will hold out Roger Federer hope

Rafael Nadal reacts to winning the French Open title

There were few chances in the ATP’s latest rankings update on Monday, with no fresh introductions into the top 50, but there was a major milestone for Rafael Nadal. The ‘King of Clay’ has now been in the top 10 of the rankings for 800 consecutive weeks with 570 weeks of that stretch, translating to 71 per cent of that time, coming while in the top two.

Nadal’s stunning streak converts to over 15 years and precisely 5,600 days and having broken Jimmy Connors’ record of 789 consecutive weeks in the top 10 back in November, he has another the American in sight in another category.

The Spaniard’s 800 weeks in the top 10 is just 16 less than Connors’ overall total, while Roger Federer has spent more weeks there than any other player in history with 930.

Nadal sits at No 2 in the world while Federer is still No 5 despite only competing in one Grand Slam in 2020 with a knee injury requiring two surgeries.

The 39-year-old will not take part in the upcoming Australian Open as he continues to regain full fitness and will drop 720 points as a result, having lost to Novak Djokovic in the semi-finals last year.

Nadal was a losing quarter-finalist last year while Djokovic must retain the Grand Slam to prevent dropping any of his 2,000 points.

But Djokovic is only sixth for most weeks in the top 10 on 665 and provided he suffers no long-term injuries like Federer’s in the coming years, will be firmly fixed on catching the Swiss.

Federer, however, has no plans to retire yet and is highly likely to remain in the top 10 throughout 2021, meaning Nadal may not be able to claw away at his rival’s lead until after he retires.

At 34, Nadal has years on Federer and his continued dominance of the French Open – where he won a 13th title in 2020 – means he should also be a top 10 player for the foreseeable future.

He is guaranteed to take over Connors in second with Djokovic also highly likely to eventually join Federer and Nadal in the top three.

The Serbian is currently 151 weeks behind eight-time Grand Slam winner Connors and so is still three years from overtaking the former world No 1 however.

Provided neither Federer or Nadal slip out of the top 10 before the former calls it a day on his tennis career, the 130-week gap between the two will remain.

That would put Nadal around two-and-a-half years behind fellow 20-time Grand Slam champion Federer and catching up to his rival would depend on how much longer the clay-court specialist sees himself sticking around on tour.

Given he would like to become a father in the future, his priorities may change as he steadily enters the second half of his 30s.

Certainly, Nadal seems likely to oust Federer for the most Grand Slams of all time, though Djokovic will hope to trump both of the pair in the long-term, trailing them both by three currently.

Djokovic is the favourite heading into the upcoming Australian Open having won the tournament a year ago and that would at least temporarily bridge the gap to two.

MUST READS…
Federer snubbed as Djokovic and Nadal Grand Slam prediction made
Rafael Nadal suffers Australian Open setback after difficult talks
Nadal tipped to outdo Federer even if both players retire in 2021

The current world No 1, Djokovic equalled Pete Sampras in ending the year top of the rankings on the most occasions by doing so a sixth time in 2020.

The 33-year-old is imminently set to overtake Federer for most weeks at No 1 and currently stands on 304 with Federer on 310. Nadal is some way back on 209.

Former British No 1 Greg Rusedski, speaking to Express Sport, has meanwhile tipped Nadal to win more Slams than either of Djokovic or Federer.

He said: “I think Djokovic will [surpass Sampras’ record for most year-end No 1s and Federer’s record for most weeks as No 1] but the only guy I’m thinking is that Nadal might have more Slams than him.

“Djokovic is going to surpass Federer, he won’t have the most wins or the most titles but he will surpass him for most Grand Slam titles.

“I think the battle is between two guys [Nadal and Djokovic]. Not winning that US Open, that would’ve taken him to 18 instead of 17 and now Nadal, you’ve got to give him the French unless [Dominic] Thiem can knock him off his pedestal in Paris.

“That’s the only guy who can beat him in my opinion there. He needs two Slams [in 2021] at least, or three.

“It becomes fascinating, there’s so many curveballs. The next generation of guys are sick of this big three!”

Source: Read Full Article