Daniil Medvedev debuts his status as number one in the ATP ranking, on a historic Monday for men’s tennis. 921 weeks later, a tennis player not named Nadal, Djokovic, Federer or Murray takes the first position in the classification, but the meteoric progression of Rafa Nadal himself in a perfect 2022 means that the possession of one may last much less than he would like to Russian. Medvedev , although he will momentarily lose his crown on March 14 – in favor of Djokovic by giving up the points from Marseille –, aims to be the dominator of the coming months… if Rafa does not avoid him from the Masters 1000 in Monte Carlo .
Nadal has added, in just two months of competition and with three tournaments played, a total translated into 2,750 points. The result has its origin in the titles won in Melbourne –Summer Set 250 and the Australian Open– and the recent one in Acapulco , in which he precisely defeated the brand new number one Medvedev on his first day, virtual, at the top.
Rafa is another of the proper names in the weekly restructuring of the ATP ranking and is already in fourth position, ahead of Tsitsipas and only behind Zverev, Djokovic and Medvedev , whom he will have a shot at during the year with the passing of the tournaments and the arrival of a dirt tour in which, although he defends a large number of points, it will be key to managing the second half of the season, where he could not compete in 2021 and, therefore, enters clean to add everything harvested.
Nadal ‘s statements, however, go in the opposite direction to his performance in 2022. While his tennis leads him to aim directly at number one, the man from Manacor assured the media otherwise. « The time of fighting for number 1 passed for me . Physical problems deprived me of ever finishing more than number 1, ”he recounted, already in the past. “My goals are others and I am not going to pursue him because it would be a mistake to pursue him,” he completed, dropping that he would not make a different schedule to earn more points, but leaving by the way that his effectiveness, currently 100%, would launches as the main candidate along with Djokovic and current leader Medvedev .
Montecarlo, the first opportunity
Nadal ‘s first opportunity to win number one could come at the Masters 1000 in Monte Carlo, as long as the man from Manacor previously wins Indian Wells , a tournament also in the Masters 1000 category, and Novak Djokovic, as it seems, does not play any of the tournaments close to Belgrade.
Taking into account that Rafa aims not to play in Miami , he would need 2000 points to aspire to the top of the table, and also that Daniil Medvedev makes 325 points or less between the three championships mentioned above. This leaves Nadal with remote possibilities, since the Russian will be a favorite in both Indian Wells and Miami as long as there is no penalty from the ATP for belonging to Russia . Zverev , another contender, would have it more complicated and should score less than 1,420 points in the Masters trident.
However, the most realistic scenario for Nadal may come in the second half of the season, since once he has passed Roland Garros he does not defend points, which will allow him to make a good harvest from the previous tournaments and from then on, return if maintains a remarkable level at number one with which it already ended the years 2008, 2010, 2013, 2017 and 2019.
