Rafael Nadal remains stunned that his eighth title victory at the French Open has put him back into the race for the year-end No.1 ranking.
The Spanish king of play is back in the chase after defeating compatriot David Ferrer 6-3 6-2 6-3 on Sunday, despite missing two major events this season with a knee injury.
However Nadal has ironically dropped to fifth on the new ATP list, with Ferrer replacing him at fourth.
But with just 55 points to defend from now until the end of the season, the 27-year-old is moving into position to challenge top-ranked Novak Djokovic, who he beat in a thrilling five-set semi-final at Roland Garros last week.
Nadal insists that chasing ranking points is not in his plans. To prove it, he has returned to his island home of Majorca and will rest until travelling hopefully to Wimbledon for the June 24 start.
“That’s (number one) not my goal today. I am in a good position in the point race: a lot of points, and only with nine tournaments (and seven titles). So that’s something amazing,” he said.
“Without playing Miami and without playing Australia, today I have 7,000 points on my computer. So that’s much more than what I thought or what I dreamed.”
But Nadal warns that his progression is far from assured.
“To be number one in this era, you need to play during the whole season because the rest of the players are very competitive. They’re going to be there,” he said.
“I need to keep winning a lot of points if I want to have any chance to be number of at the end of the season.”
Nadal is resting his dodgy left knee on doctor’s orders as a precaution before tackling the grass. But he dropped the most subtle of hints that not playing the grass court major if he is not ready remains a possibility.
“I will check all my body, and I really hope to be ready for Wimbledon. I won’t play a tournament before Wimbledon, so that’s not the ideal situation before a grand slam is on grass, the conditions are very different,” he said.
“I’m in a good position, even if I don’t play a good Wimbledon. That doesn’t mean I am not going to try, because I am going to try my 100 per cent to be ready for there and to play good tennis there.”
But an historic eighth Roland Garros trophy has defiantly taken the pressure off Nadal.
“I’m in a position that I can take everything with a little bit more relax. If I’m still doing the things the right way, I going to have my chance to finish the year on the very good position on the ranking.”
