Nadal Could Be No. 1 By The End of The Week

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Nadal Could Be No. 1 By The End of The Week

By Chris Oddo/ Monday, September 30, 2013

Rafael Nadal is closing in on the No. 1 ranking, and Novak Djokovic needs to win the China Open title this week to fend him off.

Photo Source: AP

Novak Djokovic's 101st week at No. 1 in the ATP rankings could be his last—at least for a while. With Rafael Nadal just 260 ranking point behind the Serb in the rankings, Djokovic needs to win this week's China Open in Beijing outright and hope that Nadal is stopped before the final in order to remain No. 1.

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Even if Djokovic wins the title, he will still be surpassed by Nadal if the Spaniard reaches the final. If Djokovic loses at any time before the final, even if Nadal doesn't win a match, Nadal will take over the top spot.

Djokovic, a three-time champion in Beijing, will open his bid to defend the title in Beijing with Czech Lukas Rosol, while Nadal will face Colombian Santiago Giraldo in his first-round match.

Djokovic, the 2011-12 year-end No. 1, says he will give it his best shot, “As long as there is a chance, I will fight for that top spot,” he said. “But, again, with no doubt [Nadal] has had the best results this year. This year, he's been the best player in the world. I have been having ups and downs throughout this year. But still it was quite a good season for me. But it's not over.”

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Djokovic became the ninth player in ATP history to hold the No. 1 ranking for 100 weeks last week, and this week he has tied Andre Agassi at 101 weeks at No. 1.

Nadal, 61-3 on the year, has held the No. 1 ranking for 102 weeks in his career. He relinquished the top spot to Djokovic at Wimbledon in 2011, and has not held it since.

“[It] will be very tough to become No. 1,” said Nadal. “But if I am still playing the same way that I have the past couple of months, I hope to have my chance here or in the next few weeks.”