It's official: Nadal now #1

[BillD1984]

Nadal officially unseats Federer as top ranked player

[FONT=Arial, Helvetica]NEW YORK -- Rafael Nadal's summer keeps getting better. [/FONT]​

[FONT=Arial, Helvetica]A day after winning an Olympic gold medal in Beijing, Nadal officially unseated Roger Federer to become the world's No. 1 tennis player when the ATP rankings came out on Monday. [/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica]Federer had been atop the rankings for 235 weeks, but Nadal has won six tournaments this year and heads into next week's U.S. Open as the favorite to win his third straight Grand Slam. Federer has won the last four U.S. Opens. [/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica]Nadal ensured he'd rise to No. 1 two weeks ago when he reached the Cincinnati Masters semifinals and Federer lost early. [/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica]Nadal had been No. 2 for a record 160 consecutive weeks since July 2005. [/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica]He has won 38 of his last 39 matches on tour and beat Federer in the finals of the French Open and Wimbledon this summer. [/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica]Nadal beat Fernando Gonzalez of Chile in straight sets on Sunday to win a gold medal for Spain in men's singles. [/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica]Since the ATP rankings began in 1973, Nadal was the 24th man to become No. 1., and the third Spaniard after Carlos Moya (1999) and Juan Carlos Ferrero (2003). [/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica]Federer continued his yearlong slump when he lost in the quarterfinals to James Blake, though he did take a gold medal for Switzerland in doubles with partner Stanislas Wawrinka. [/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica]Ana Ivanovic is back on top in the women's rankings. The 20-year old Serb, who held the No. 1 WTA ranking for nine weeks from June 9-Aug. 11, moved past compatriot Jelena Jankovic. [/FONT]


I for one can't wait for The Open to get underway! This adds a whole new dynamic to this already great rivalry!

 

[anders5189]

He's on quite on roll now. Hopefully we'll be treated to another Federer-Nadal final at the US Open.

 

[ripnbigc]

He's on quite on roll now. Hopefully we'll be treated to another Federer-Nadal final at the US Open.

Yep, Wimbleton was awesome.

 

[BillD1984]

He's on quite on roll now. Hopefully we'll be treated to another Federer-Nadal final at the US Open.

IMO, if that happens, Sunday, Sept. 7 will be one of the best sports days of 2008! The opening Sunday of NFL play, pennant races heating up, and Nadal-Federer. Does it get any better than that? OMG, 4pm alone (The Open on CBS, and Cowboys-Browns on Fox) will be picture-in picture heaven!

 

[HD MM]

The Wimbledon win by Nadal over R-Fed was the passing of the torch IMO. Since then, R-Fed got beaten rather easily by James Blake in the Olympics.

 

[tigerfan33]

In my opinion, The Wimbledon final hurt Fed so much confidence wise. The final itself was the best match, quality wise that I have ever seen. Federer has to be thinking " If I play this well and lose, what happens when I am just a little bit off??"

With that said. Federer will get it back. His game is so versatile unlike Nadal. How much longer can Nadal put his body through what he puts it through?? I do not think he will play a high level of tennis past the age of 25 or 26. Putting 110% will take its toll on mind and body. Nadal has yet to play a full season on tour injury free.

 

[anders5189]

The Wimbledon win by Nadal over R-Fed was the passing of the torch IMO. Since then, R-Fed got beaten rather easily by James Blake in the Olympics.

You're right. Blake is, IMO, the most overrated tennis player out there. He's never won a big match before, and true to form after he beat Federer he had two chances to medal and lost both matches. When you start losing to Blake you need to go back to the drawing board. There's a good chance Federer doesn't even make the final at the US Open.