Sunday, 19 May 2013

TENNIS: Nadal clinch fourth seed after seeing off Federer

The Big Four can breathe a little easier heading into Paris.

With his win over Roger Federer in Sunday’s Internazionali BNL d’Italia final in Rome, Rafael Nadal will overtake David Ferrer for World No. 4 in the Emirates ATP Rankings on Monday. The result has huge implications for Roland Garros, as Nadal's No. 4 seeding guarantees the seven-time champion cannot meet World No. 1 Novak Djokovic, No. 2 Andy Murray or No. 3 Federer before the semi-finals. Murray’s status remains questionable, as the Scot is battling a lower back issue.

Nadal will enter Paris on the back of a 15-match win streak and three successive titles (Barcelona, Madrid, Rome) as he bids to extend his record reign at the second major tournament of the season. 

Last year, the Mallorcan surpassed Bjorn Borg for the most Roland Garros titles of all-time by defeating Djokovic for his seventh crown in eight years. Nadal has won 41 tour-level titles on clay, including five this season.

atpworldtour.com

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