ATP Tour - No distractions for Nadal in Madrid

Eurosport - Sat, 11 Oct 16:06:00 2008

Strengthening his position at the top of the world rankings is the priority for Rafael Nadal rather than November's Davis Cup final against Argentina, the Spaniard said ahead of next week's Madrid Masters.

TENNIS 2008 Madrid Masters Rafa Nadal - 0

The 22-year-old has had a spectacular season, winning a fourth consecutive French Open, gold at the Beijing Olympics and his maiden Wimbledon title to replace arch-rival Roger Federer as the world number one.

He is not about to give that up easily.

"My objective is to arrive safely on Wednesday, ready to play a good match. Winning the tournament isn't the objective but to ensure I am still number one at the end of the year," Nadal said after a training session.

He batted away a flurry of questions from local media about the Davis Cup final, saying: "I am playing Madrid now, then Paris, Shanghai and after that you can ask me about Mar del Plata."

Federer's cool demolition of Andy Murray in September's US Open final added to the feeling that the Swiss world number two has rediscovered his best form, and there is the possibility of a fifth meeting with Nadal this term, in Madrid.

Nadal has won all four clashes between the two in 2008.

"It would be great to have another duel with Federer. If I play him it means I will be number one at the end of the year because I will have reached the final. I can only meet him there," Nadal added.

Nadal, Federer, Serbia's Novak Djokovic and Britain's Murray have all guaranteed themselves places in the lucrative Masters Cup in Shanghai on November 9-16, leaving four more places up for grabs.

Russia's Nikolay Davydenko, who was ousted from the Kremlin Cup at the quarter-final stage, and American Andy Roddick, knocked out of the Japan Open in the semi-finals, take up fifth and sixth places in the ATP 2008 race.

Spaniard David Ferrer, American James Blake, in-form Argentine Juan Martin del Potro and Switzerland's Stanislas Wawrinka are battling it out for the last two slots.

Defending champion David Nalbandian, ranked seventh in the world, is well off the pace down in 26th in the race for Shanghai, but has recovered from some early season injuries and qualified for the final of the Stockholm Open after easily beating Jarkko Nieminen in the semis.

Reuters

Comment 1 - 14 of 14

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  1. Federer can be compared to Nadal, like a leopard to a­ gorilla. Gorilla is strong naturally, yet we admire the­ weaker leopard for his grace and technique.

    From damtaren, on Mon 13 Oct 8:57AM

  2. rafaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa

    From hekuranzogaj, on Sun 12 Oct 5:04AM

  3. "we must accept that it's a matter of­ time,they're great players no doubt about that,and­ this time is for Nadal!if i'm not mistaken Federer­ is world no one for 4 or 5 yrs.so he proved enough that­ he's gud and as Nadal is coming.no doubt that he­ can beat Federer and now lets give the others a chance­ to be world no.1 coz they deserve it too....GO NADAL

    From verarose, on Sat 11 Oct 8:14PM

  4. I accept that Federer is also brilliant but he's­ getting on a bit in tennis terms and I don't want­ this to turn into Federer fans slagging of Rafa and­ vice versa. They don't slag each other off so why­ should we? On hard courts Federer is better but
    Federer­ vs Rafa on Clay - Rafa is definately better.
    Why­ can't we accept that they're both good and­ it's just personal preference that makes us like­ one or the other

    From ANDREA, on Sat 11 Oct 7:41PM

  5. Abhishek u ve to admit that FED is better technically­ than RAFA

    From Tarek, on Sat 11 Oct 5:33PM

  6. whats wrong with u ?

    From Tarek, on Sat 11 Oct 5:32PM

  7. Rafa looks good and much less tired in the picture. He­ is the player who deserves the Number 1, not only­ because he's good but because he's a genuinely­ lovely guy. Go for it Rafa we're all with you

    From ANDREA, on Sat 11 Oct 4:23PM

  8. u sizzle

    From abhi_rafa, on Sat 11 Oct 4:19PM

  9. u sizzle.

    From abhi_rafa, on Sat 11 Oct 4:19PM

  10. u r d best ever sportsman
    u rock
    u r d greatest
    no­ doubt on u.
    don't let federer regain world no­ 1.
    keep it up
    u can do it.

    From abhi_rafa, on Sat 11 Oct 4:18PM

  11. u r d best ever sportsman
    u rock
    u r d greatest
    no­ doubt on u.
    don't let federer regain world no­ 1.
    keep it up
    u can do it.

    From abhi_rafa, on Sat 11 Oct 4:16PM

  12. u r d best ever sportsman
    u rock
    u r d greatest
    no­ doubt on u.
    don't let federer regain world no­ 1.
    keep it up
    u can do it.

    From abhi_rafa, on Sat 11 Oct 4:15PM

  13. u r d best ever sportsman
    u rock
    u r d greatest
    no­ doubt on u.
    don't let federer regain world no­ 1.
    keep it up
    u can do it.

    From abhi_rafa, on Sat 11 Oct 4:14PM

  14. u r d best ever sportsman
    u rock
    u r d greatest
    no­ doubt on u.
    don't let federer regain world no­ 1.
    keep it up
    u can do it.

    From federer_arjun, on Sat 11 Oct 4:10PM
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