Rafael Nadal surpasses Novak Djokovic

0 0 0 179 0

Rafael Nadal narrowly missed out on the chance to become the World No. 1 after his fourth-round loss in the US Open to Frances Tiafoe and paving the way for Carlos Alcaraz to take the spot. This also means that he is now set to become the third oldest player to be ranked in the top 2, since 1973. Atthe age of 36 years and 3 months, he is preceded by Roger Federer (37 years and 2 months) and Ken Rosewall (40 years 7 months).

In doing so he has surpassed Novak Djokovic who was previously occupying the third position. He will also be replacing Casper Ruud as the World No. 2. Moreover, with 22 major wins to his credit, this is the first time that Nadal will be ranked in the top 2 since he turned 35.

This will also mark Nadal’s 580^th week in the top 2, which is a testimony to the consistency he has displayed throughout his career, where he entered the coveted top rankings 17 years ago. With 11 ATP titles and 4 masters wins in 2005, Rafa has come a long way.

He retained his spot in the top 2 for four years after that, and then again in 2010, 2011 and 2012. Post injury, he was able to reclaim his spot in 2013 and 2014. This was followed by an extended period of injuries which saw him rank at the top again only in 2017, and then several times till 2020.

He missed out in 2021 due to further injuries and is soon set to return to the spot behind current World No. 1 Carlos Alcaraz. However, Nadal is unsure of when he can return to his best performance level, while currently dealing with an abdominal injury and taking a break for the birth of his first child.