ATP Rankings: How Djokovic Can Overtake Nadal For World No. 1 Spot

Novak Djokovic continued his stellar comeback from injury in 2018 by winning his third straight title of the season at the Shanghai Masters in China on Sunday to close the gap to Rafael Nadal at the top of the ATP men’s singles rankings.

The Serbian remains undefeated since his round of 16 loss to Stefanos Tsitsipas at the Rogers Cup in early August after which he has gone to claim the Cincinnati Masters, the US Open and now the title in Shanghai.

It was not long ago that Djokovic was struggling to move past the initial rounds after coming back from an elbow injury that saw him miss almost eighth months of tennis. The turnaround in form began in the latter stages of the clay court season in May, but came to the fore when the grass court campaign began in June.

The Serbian made it to the finals of the Queen’s Club tournament where he lost to Marin Cilic, but he went one step further at Wimbledon to claim his 13th major title. He has since beaten just once this season and is now the favorite to end the year as the world number one.

Djokovic will surpass Roger Federer and become the world number two when the rankings are released on Monday. The Serb will be just 215 points behind Nadal, who has occupied the top spot for most of the year.

The Spaniard looked favorite to end the year as the world number one for the second consecutive year after his surge to the semi-finals at Wimbledon and triumph at the Rogers Cup in Toronto. But his injury at the US Open saw him miss the China Open and the Shanghai Masters where he made the final in 2017.

Nadal’s absence and Djokovic’s fine form has seen the Serbian close the gap as the season enters the final stretch. There are just two major tournaments left to play – the Paris Masters and the Nitto ATP Finals in London.

Djokovic is currently on 7,445 points after his win at Shanghai, while Nadal dropped to 7,660 after losing 600 points for skipping the event. And with the Serb not defending any points until the end of the campaign he has 2,500 points up for grabs in Paris and London – the next two tournaments in his calendar.

Nadal is in a similar position after a poor ending to his 2017 season due to injury. The Spaniard has just 180 points to defend at the Paris Masters, but will have 1500 points to gain if he wins the ATP Finals in London – the traditional season ending tournament.

The Spaniard is expected to return from injury at the Paris Masters and it will be a winner take all battle between the two legends of the game with both only expected to take part in two events before ending their respective campaigns.