Rafael Nadal again number one in the world before the US Open? So he can oust Daniil Medvedev

The world number three returns to the court in the United States of America and could arrive at the last major of the year as the newly crowned number one.

However, in order for his first world ranking lead since January 2020 to work, the current tennis king Daniil Medvedev has to play along.

The Russian seems out of reach with a lead of 2255 points on his Spanish opponent, but his first round failure at the Masters in Montreal could cost the 26-year-old dearly.

990 points will be deducted from Medvedev next Monday – the race for the top will be reopened.

World rankings: Zverev and Alcaraz without a chance

Only Nadal has a realistic chance of the world ranking coup – especially since the Spaniard did not play the US Masters events last year and was also absent from the US Open.

However, Carlos Alcaraz (ATP 4) is already too far behind Medvedev to be able to put decisive pressure on him.

Nadal far behind Djokovic and Federer

That leaves Nadal, who would have to win the tournament in Cincinnati to overtake Medvedev. The Russian has to say goodbye before the quarter-finals – otherwise Medvedev will also be number one in the world at the US Open.

Nadal is currently at the top of the ATP ranking for 209 weeks, which means sixth place behind Novak Djokovic (373), Roger Federer (310), Pete Sampras (286), Ivan Lendl (270) and Jimmy Connors (268).