Rafael Nadal 'Won't Do Anything' To Chase Federer's Top Ranking, Toni Says

Rafael Nadal lost his position as the world’s top ranked men’s player to Roger Federer after the Swiss ace made the finals of the Mercedes Cup on June 16, which he eventually went on to win the following day. And he is not interested in chasing it, according to former coach Toni Nadal.

It was not the first time the Spaniard has surrendered his place at the top of the rankings — it’s already happened twice earlier in the season. Federer became the oldest number one in ATP history in February when he won the Rotterdam Open, but lost his position after he failed to defend his titles at Indian Wells and Miami.

Nadal took over at the top in March despite not having played a single tournament since January due to a hip injury. The Spaniard briefly lost it to Federer when he went down in the quarterfinals of the Madrid Open, but regained it when he won the Italian Open and maintained his position after defending his title in Roland Garros.

The Swiss tennis legend continued the trend of the two veterans sharing the number one ranking between them when he won the Mercedes Cup. He is currently 150 points ahead of his long-time rival, but has to defend his titles at the ongoing Gerry Weber Open and the upcoming Wimbledon Championships to remain at the top.

Nadal has just 180 points to defend this grass court season, and the Wimbledon is likely to be his only event on this surface after he decided to skip the Queen’s Club event due to fatigue. If he makes it past the quarter-finals, he can close the gap on Federer and even potentially go ahead.

However, the Spaniard’s uncle and former coach revealed his nephew was not interested in chasing the No.1 ranking and hence will not add more tournaments to his schedule.

Uncle Toni, as he is fondly known, believes Nadal will only play tournaments he wants and it will depend on his fitness, which is the main priority at the moment. He revealed it was never Nadal’s intention to chase the top ranking.

“He won't do anything to fight for the no. 1. This is not his goal, this is not his fight, at all,” Nadal Sr. said, as quoted on Tennis World USA.

“It's not like when he was younger when he was a little more than 20 years and was playing one more tournament. He will do what he believes it's the best for his body, he will play tournaments that he decides to play well and in the end, sometimes an extra effort can be good in the short-term, but not for the long-term,” Nadal’s former coach explained. “One day Rafa told me that his goal is not to go behind the no. 1, but if it happens, (it would be) perfect.”