Nadal Sees Djokovic As No. 1 Threat

© Getty ImagesRafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic will be two of the protagonists in the battle to finish the year No. 1.

Following his defeat to Novak Djokovic in the BNP Paribas Open final on Sunday, Rafael Nadal declared that the Serbian is “in the best position” to finish as the year-end World No. 1 in the South African Airways 2011 ATP Rankings.

Djokovic, who displaced Federer at No. 2 in the South African Airways 2011 ATP Rankings on Monday, has opened the season with an 18-0 match record, taking in titles at the Australian Open (d. Murray), Dubai (d. Federer) and Indian Wells.

“Nole starts with a big advantage right now, 3,000, almost 4,000 points, so that's a lot,” said Nadal. “That's a lot for [a] serious player like him. That's a lot for [a] complete player like him, because he can play really good on all the surfaces. He has a big advantage.

“I started the tournament 17th in the [year-to-date rankings]; I’m going to finish this tournament No. 6. That's a big improvement for me, very positive. I am closer to the top positions, and [Roger] Federer played a good semi-finals, a good result, too. He's there. He's like Nole. He can play really good on all the surfaces.”

The Spaniard currently holds the top spot in the South African Airways 2011 ATP Rankings and has opened up a lead of 3,920 points since re-assuming the position on 7 June 2010, after winning Roland Garros. However, he declared that for him it is the year-end rankings which carry the most significance.

“When I am talking about the No. 1 ranking, I'm talking about finishing [the year] No. 1, not being No. 1 during the season. Because [while] that's important, for me it's not the most important thing. If you finish the No. 1 of the year that's the most important thing.”

The Sony Ericsson Open begins on Wednesday, followed by a two-month clay-court swing with most of the top players beginning their build-up for Roland Garros at the Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters. It is a time of year that Nadal believes could be pivotal in the battle to finish the year No. 1 

“After Roland Garros, I will tell you who is the biggest favourite to be No. 1, because [it] is after two months of competition,” said the Mallorcan, a five-time winner of the clay-court major. “Only thing I can tell you is Djokovic is in the best position. Right now he’s playing on his favourite surface, I think, because hard court, outdoor I think is when he plays better. It's his favourite surface. So he has confidence, he's playing well; he's a very good player. We will see what's going on in the clay season. After this, first six months of the season, we start to see what are the chances of everybody.”

While Nadal will be optimistic of closing the gap on Djokovic during his strongest stretch of the season, the Serbian is confident he can continue to improve on clay and challenge Nadal for the major trophies.

“I believe I can play well on that surface, and I have proven that in the past couple of years,” said Djokovic, a two-time semi-finalist at Roland Garros. [I] had a great clay-court season in 2009 and 2008; have always played well in Roland Garros.

“I am aware that, in order to win trophies on that surface, big ones, I will need to be physically very, very fit. Because as the slowest surface, it requires a lot of physical strength and endurance, and I have been working hard on it for a while. I will definitely pay attention to it more.”