Spanish tennis great Rafael Nadal is currently ranked number two in the world, despite defeating reigning world number one Novak Djokovic in the final of the 2020 French Open, earlier this month. Nonetheless, he still has a chance to topple the Serbian by the end of the year, and here's how he can do it.
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Keep winning all matches: Nadal would be playing the upcoming Paris Masters next month. Nadal would have to win the tournament, following which he would win 640 wins and would have a total of 10,090 points. Following Paris, he would be playing the ATP finals, where upon winning the title, he would earn 1,500 points and would finish the year with 11,590 points.
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Djokovic needs to lose in Vienna before quarters: However, just wins for Nadal won; be enough, as Djokovic, too, would have to lose his matches. As of now, Djok would be playing the Vienna Open, where with just two wins, he would earn 90 points, that allows him to collect a total of 11,630 points. Consequently, it would guarantee the Serbian's year-end as world number one finish.
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What if Djok loses in Vienna's opening round? In case Djok loses in the opening round of Vienna, he will have to ensure that he wins all the three group matches in the Finals. Losing all the matches in the Finals would allow Djokovic to topple the Serbian, provided the Spaniard wins both Paris and the Finals.
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What if Djok also loses one or two group matches in the Finals? In case Djok also loses one or two matches in the Finals, Nadal's only hope would be to win the tournament and expect that the Serbian does not make it to the semis. In case Djok qualifies to the semis in some manner, despite losing two group matches, it's game over for the Spaniard.
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Asianet analysis: As of now, the world number one looks all set to finish the year as the same. It is highly unlikely that Djokovic would not make it past the pre-quarters in Vienna, unless he ridiculously underperforms, or pulls out due to an injury. As for Nadal, he is not the best on hard courts. With both Paris and Finals being played on hard court, chances of him winning both look slim. Furthermore, the ATP Finals is the only prestigious title that has eluded the Spaniard in his illustrious career so far.
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