It means a lot – Rafael Nadal on his chance to become World No.1

Veteran Rafael Nadal has admitted that a chance to become the World No.1 in ATP rankings means a lot to him. Nadal honestly admitted he wasn’t expecting such an opportunity to come his way before the start of the season.

However, the Spaniard revealed that he is going to give priority to his health but at the same time he is going to give his best in every single tournament he is going to play in the rest of the season. Nadal currently has a 35-3 record in 2022.

If Nadal goes on to win the upcoming Cincinnati Masters and the current no.1 Daniil Medvedev fails to reach the quarterfinals, then the Mallorcan will take the numero uno spot in the ATP rankings.

Medvedev recently lost in the opening round of the National Bank Open against Nick Kyrgios while Nadal will return to action after recovering from an abdomen injury that he suffered in the quarterfinal clash against Taylor Fritz in Wimbledon.

“It means a lot to me to have that opportunity [to rise to No. 1]. Something that I didn’t expect could happen again. The main thing is to stay healthy and play the events that I want to play,” Nadal said in his pre-tournament press conference on Sunday.

“I will not play more than what I believe works well for my body. I am going to put all my efforts into every single event I play. It is something that doesn’t matter if I have the chance to be No. 1, but I am happy to be in this position and if it happens, I will be very happy.”

Nadal won Cincinnati Masters back in 2013 and he will be playing in the tournament for the first time since 2017. The Spaniard will return to the ATP tour after being on the sidelines due to injury and feels it would not be easy for him to hit the ground running.

“You need to know that when you come back after a while that things aren’t going to be perfect,” Nadal said. “You can’t expect to play at an amazing level from the beginning. Knowing that you [need to] be humble enough to fight with the tools that you have at the beginning to win the first match. Then when you win a match or two matches things change and you start to feel competitive again.

“If you are playing well, and I think I am playing more or less ok, you have some good feelings on court. But competition is different and you need to accept that things are going to be difficult, even more so in a Masters 1000 because when you come back, even at a Grand Slam, if you are lucky with the draw, even if you aren’t playing at a high level you have a chance to win a couple of matches. But at a Masters 1000, opponents are very demanding right from the beginning so you need to play at a high level and that is what I am going to try to do.”

Nadal will be in action on Tuesday but his opponent is yet to be confirmed.