Rafael Nadal defeated Hyeon Chung 7-5 6-3 to win his opening match at the ATP Masters 1000 tournament in Paris. Because Roger Federer withdrew from the tournament, this result means that Nadal has clinched the year-end #1 ranking for the fourth time in his career. This ties Novak Djokovic’s mark of four year-end #1 rankings, and trails only Pete Sampras (six), Jimmy Connors (five), and Federer (five) for the most since the ATP rankings system began.
Nadal earned this ranking by winning two Grand Slams (the French Open and US Open) this year, along with a runner-up showing at the Australian Open. Federer also won two Slams this year, but the Swiss skipped the French Open, and earned far fewer points than the Spaniard in the spring, as Federer skipped essentially the entire clay court season. During that stretch, Nadal also won two Masters 1000 crowns (Monte Carlo and Madrid), as well as the 500-level tournament in Barcelona. Nadal also won one more title on the year, at the 500-level tournament in Beijing last month.
The Spaniard has never won the Masters tournament in Paris. In fact, this is only the sixth time in his career that he has even attempted to compete in it. Fast indoor hard courts are not where Nadal excels, though he has certainly won plenty of tournaments on the surface. With no Federer here, the draw is relatively open for Nadal to make a real run at the title, which would bring him closer to a career sweep of Masters events (he also has never won Miami or Shanghai).
Nadal’s results in Paris will give a good idea for how suited he currently is to make a run at the biggest tournament he has never won in his career–the World Tour Finals in London in two weeks. Nadal has never captured that crows, and it remains the biggest title missing from the Spaniard’s trophy case. Regardless of how he finishes in Paris and London, though, finishing the year at #1 at the age of 31 is no easy feat, and is one that should be remembered and appreciated by all.
