Rafael Nadal
Rafael Nadal is ranked number one in the world. In this picture, Nadal leaves the court after losing to Serbia's Novak Djokovic during the continuation of their men's singles semi-final match on the twelfth day of the 2018 Wimbledon Championships at The All England Lawn Tennis Club in Wimbledon, southwest London, July 14, 2018. OLI SCARFF/AFP/Getty Images

Rafael Nadal took a major lead over Roger Federer in the ATP men’s singles ranking when it was recalibrated after the conclusion of the 2018 Wimbledon Championships on Sunday.

The Spaniard started the tournament as the world number one but was just 50 points ahead of Federer in second place. But the Swiss ace was defending 2,000 points at the All England Club while Nadal was defending just 180 having lost in the fourth round in 2017.

Federer was the pre-tournament favorite and was expected to defend his title, but it did not go according to plan as the 20-time men’s singles Grand Slam winner lost to Kevin Anderson in the quarter-finals. He lost over 1,500 points owing to his early exit to the South African.

Nadal, on the other hand, made his way to the semi-finals at SW19 where he lost in a hard fought battle to eventual champion Novak Djokovic. The Spaniard’s progress to the last four ensured him additional points despite not going all the way.

The 11-time French Open champion is currently top of the world rankings with 9,310 points while Federer is 2,230 points behind. The Swiss ace remains the world number two owing to the massive deficit between the top two and the chasing pack.

The other big movers after Wimbledon were Anderson, who moved up three places and is currently ranked number five in the world. And Djokovic, who moved up 11 places to enter the top-10 having started the tournament as the world number 21.

Nadal and Federer are likely to continue their battle for the number one ranking until the end of the season. The top spot in the world rankings has already switched six times in the last seven months between the two all-time greats of the game.

The Spaniard has to defend 3,550 points from now until the end of the year, with a big chunk of it being the 200 points at the US Open, where he is the defending champion. Federer has 3,060 points to defend until the end of the season, which ensures neither player has a clear advantage over the other.

Djokovic, currently at world number 10 with 3,355 points, could end the year among the top two or three if Nadal and Federer falter as the Serbian has no points to defend in the second half of the campaign. The 31-year-old missed the last six months of the 2017 season due to an elbow injury.

The next major tournament on the ATP calendar is the Rogers Cup in Montreal. Federer was a losing finalist and will be defending 600 points, while Nadal will be defending just 90 points owing to his third round loss to Denis Shapovalov in 2017. Djokovic is also likely to play the event and hopes that he can continue his good form from SW19 for the rest of the campaign.

RELATED STORIES