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Rafael Nadal To Become World No.1 As Federer Withdraws From Cincinnati

Published

7 years ago

14/08/2017

Rafael Nadal (zimbio.com)

Rafael Nadal will become the new world No.1 next week after Roger Federer pulled out of the Western and Southern Open due to a back injury.

The two were set to go head-to-head at the Cincinnati Masters with the top ranking at stake. Nadal already had a 410-point lead over Federer heading into the tournament with current number one Andy Murray set to drop points due to his absence from the tour. Now the Spaniard will rise to the top regardless of how he performs this week.

Federer’s injury blow occurred at the Rogers Cup, where he lost to Alexander Zverev in the final yesterday. In a statement to the media, the 36-year-old said he, ‘tweaked’ his back whilst playing in Canada. Although it is currently unclear as to when he did it and the severity of the issue.

“I am very sorry to pull out of the Western & Southern Open as I always enjoy playing here,” Federer said. “Cincinnati has some of the best fans in the world and I am sorry I will miss them. Unfortunately, I tweaked my back in Montreal and I need to rest this week.”

Speculation about the presence of the Swiss world No.3 in Cincinnati started on Sunday. During his Montreal press conference, Federer admitted that his main goal is the year-end No.1 ranking and that he is currently experiencing ‘aches and pains.’

“I felt all right all week. Had a bit of muscle pain, aches and pains here and there, just because it’s back on the match courts, on the hard courts. After vacation and practice, it’s always a bit of a shock for the body.” He explained.

Federer will be replaced in the main draw by lucky loser Thomas Fabbiano.

Nadal back on top

Following the turn of events, Nadal will headline the world ranking for the first time since July 2014. He has already spent a total of 141 weeks at world No.1, which is the seventh longest in the Open Era.

It is a dream outcome for the 31-year-old, who dropped to as low as 9th in December following an injury-stricken 2016 season. Regardless of his numerous injury struggles, Nadal has remained in the world’s top-10 since making his debut in April 2005.

Heading into the US Open, which gets underway on August 28th, Nadal is set to be the top seed in the draw for the first time since 2010.

Who has been world No.1 the longest? (ATP only)

Rank	Player	Total (weeks)
1.	Roger Federer	302
2.	Pete Sampras	286
3.	Ivan Lendl	270
4.	Jimmy Connors	268
5.	Novak Djokovic	223
6.	John McEnroe	170
7.	Rafael Nadal	141
8.	Björn Borg	109
9.	Andre Agassi	101
10.	Lleyton Hewitt	80

Related Topics:Rafael Nadal Roger Federer

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Giovanni Mpetchi Perricard claims his first ATP title in Lyon

Published

17 hours ago

25/05/2024

sampaolo

Giovanni Mpetchi Perricard battled past sixth seed Tomas Martin Etcheverry 6-4 1-6 7-6 (9-7) in a thrilling final at the Open Parc tournament in Lyon.

Mpetchi Perricard saved four break points in the first game of the opening set to hold serve at deuce. Etcheverry converted his third break point in the fifth game and held serve at love to take a 4-2 lead. Mpetchi Perricard won four consecutive games to clinch the first set 6-4.

Etcheverry broke three times to win the second set 6-1.

The third set went on serve until the 11^th game when Mpetchi Perricard converted his third break point to take a 6-5 lead. Etcheverry broke straight back to draw level to 6-6. Mpetchi Perricard was a point away from defeat at 6-7 in the tie-break of the third set, but he reeled off the final three points to win the tie-break 9-7 on his second championship point.

Mpetchi Perricard won three Challenger Tour titles this year in Nottingham, Cuernavaca and Acapulco. He beat Lorenzo Sonego, Yoshihito Nishioka, Hugo Gaston and Alexander Bublik en route to his first ATP Tour title in Lyon.

Mpetchi Perricard is the son of footballer player Ghislain Mpetchi, who is of Congolese origin. He sister Daphnée Perricard is also a tennis player.

“It was crazy. It was a very good final. I was down in the second set, but I managed to do better. I am very happy to win this tournament and now I have a lot of confidence for Roland Garros”, said Mpetchi Perricard.

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Casper Ruud claims the third title of his career in Geneva

Published

18 hours ago

25/05/2024

sampaolo

Casper Ruud claimed the third title of his career at the Gonet Geneva Open after his previous triumphs at this tournament in 2021 and 2022.

Ruud did double duty after rain postponed his semifinal match to Saturday. Ruud saved a match point to beat Flavio Cobolli 1-6 6-1 7-6 (7-4) in the semifinal. He returned less than three hours to defeat Tomas Machac 7-5 6-3 in the final. Ruud clinched the ATP Tour title of his career.

Machac went up a break in the third game of the first set to take a 3-1 lead. Ruud won three consecutive games from 4-5 down with two breaks in the first set after Machac committed a double fault while he was holding a set point on serve at 5-4.

Ruud broke serve in the second game of the second set. The Norwegian player held on his next service games and served out the win on his first match point in 1 hour and 47 minutes.

Ruud improved to 2-0 in his two head-to-head matches against Machac. “It was a challenging week. All the matches are tough, no matter who will play. It was tough to find a groove. The weather has been a bit challenging all week, but today was fantastic. I feel very happy to win again to win again here in Geneva. It’s been a very good season so far”, said Ruud.

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Casper Ruud saves a match point to beat Flavio Cobolli in the semifinal in Geneva

Published

22 hours ago

25/05/2024

sampaolo

Second seed Casper Ruud came back from one set down to beat Flavio Cobolli 1-6 6-1 7-6 (7-4) in 1 hour and 51 minutes in the semifinal of the Gonet Geneva Open. Ruud set up a final against Tomas Machac, who upset Novak Djokovic 6-4 0-6 6-1 in yesterday’s semifinal.

Cobolli earned his first break in the second game with a forehand winner. The world number 56 broke for the second time to love in the sixth game to close out the first set 6-1.

Ruud earned two breaks in the fourth and sixth games to win the second set 6-1.

Cobolli saved two break points in the first game of the third set before converting his third break point to open up a 3-0 lead. Ruud broke back in the seventh game and held serve to 30 to draw level to 4-4.

Ruud, who won two titles in Geneva in 2021 and 2022, saved a match point on serve at 4-5 30-40 in the third set. The Norwegian player went up a 4-0 lead with three mini-breaks in the tie-break before going on to seal the win.

Cobolli hit eight aces and won 67% of his first serve points. The Italian player hit 38 winners to 21 unforced errors. Ruud hit 12 winners to 6 unforced errors.

“It was very difficult. I was one point away from losing. I was able to hang in there and it was a very tough match. I am happy to have been able to come back in the third set and pull through. It was a good confidence win for me and I am looking forward to the final”, said Ruud.