Exactly ten years ago today, on August 18, 2008, Rafael Nadal was at the top of the ATP world rankings for the first time. Roger Federer retired in the last 16 against Ivo Karlovi? at the Cincinnati tournament, so Nadal made his first appearance in the tennis throne despite a semi-final defeat to Novak Djokovic.
Today, exactly ten years later, the Spaniard is still the industry leader. He leads the world ranking with almost 4000 points ahead of Roger Federer.
It is also Federer who denied Nadal the chance to spend more weeks at the top. Before the King of Clay was allowed to smile from the very top for the first time, the Swiss was in first place in the world rankings for an unbelievable 237 weeks in a row. Most of the time he was followed by Nadal, now 32 years old.
The 17-time Grand Slam winner succeeded in replacing the guards thanks above all to an outstanding clay court season and his first triumph at Wimbledon. Both times he defeated Roger Federer in the final, the SW19 final is still considered the best tennis match of all time and paved Nadal’s way to number one.
The summer was topped with an Olympic gold medal in Beijing. The Manacor bull finished the season as number one in the rankings and added another bull the following year. With his victory at the Australian Open – again against Federer – he secured his first major title on hard court.
However, this remained the biggest success this year, injuries and private problems were a problem for the Spaniard and after 46 weeks he had to give up the place in the sun to his permanent rival Federer.
But Nadal fought her way back again and again and was able to conquer the top of the world rankings again and again. Overall, the 2010 World Sportsman of the Year has been in first place in the world rankings for 185 weeks to date, even though some critics have predicted an extremely short career due to his exhausting style of play. Currently, the 32-year-old seems stronger than ever and is considered the top favorite for the title at the US Open starting in a week’s time in New York.
Another major triumph could consolidate the position of the greatest fighter of all time and add another fabulous chapter to his career. Who, if not Nadal, can we trust?
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