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Rafael Nadal to return to number one after Roger Federer's Cincinnati withdrawal

Last updated on .From the section Tenniscomments167

Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal
Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal have won 34 Grand Slam titles between them

Rafael Nadal will be the new world number one from next Monday after Roger Federer withdrew from the Cincinnati Masters with a back injury.

The Swiss 19-time Grand Slam winner was the only player who could have denied Spain's Nadal taking the top spot in the rankings from Andy Murray.

Federer was injured in Sunday's Rogers Cup final defeat by Alexander Zverev.

Briton Murray pulled out of Cincinnati last week as he continues to recover from a hip problem.

Reigning French Open champion Nadal returns to the top of the rankings for the first time since July 2014.

The 31-year-old went out of the Rogers Cup in the last 16 against wildcard Denis Shapovalov.

Federer went all the way to the final before losing to 20-year-old German Zverev in Montreal - the Swiss' first tournament since winning Wimbledon for the eighth time in July.

"I am very sorry to pull out," said the world number three. "Cincinnati has some of the best fans in the world and I am sorry I will miss them.

"Unfortunately, I tweaked my back in Montreal and I need to rest this week."

The Cincinnati Masters leads up to the the US Open, the final Grand Slam of the year, which begins on 28 August.

Federer, 36, joins fellow top 10 players Murray, Kei Nishikori and Marin Cilic in withdrawing, while 2016 US Open winner Stan Wawrinka and 12-time Grand Slam champion Novak Djokovic will miss the rest of the season.

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167 comments

  • Comment posted by dpm180, at 18:24 14 Aug 2017

    Congrats to Rafa for getting back to No1.
    The ranking system is the same for every player, so whoever gets to No1 at anytime deserves it.

  • Comment posted by HandOfBob, at 17:27 14 Aug 2017

    Great to see Nadal and Federer battling it out for GS's and the number 1 spot again.

  • Comment posted by sam, at 17:42 14 Aug 2017

    Nadal has now been at number 1 at some point during 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2013, 2014 and now 2017. He has managed to reclaim the number 1 spot three times. He has set a record for the number 1 ranking span ( from August 2008 to at least September 2017) Says much about his genius and also his longevity and dips he's suffered due to injury.

  • Comment posted by Get the miles in, at 20:05 14 Aug 2017

    Hope AM gets fit soon, but well done Rafa...world no1...who would have said that 12 months ago?

  • Comment posted by U16583824, at 17:27 14 Aug 2017

    Kudos to Rafa

    But I'm sure he's not really that interested in the no 1 label - what counts in his legacy are the slams

  • Comment posted by dpm180, at 17:58 14 Aug 2017

    Markthelegend is a reknowned wind up merchant on all HYSs just ignore his silly comments.

  • Comment posted by U15743313, at 17:32 14 Aug 2017

    Congratulations Rafa. Class is permanent form is temporary

  • Comment posted by U16503848, at 18:14 14 Aug 2017

    Wow. Great achievement after so many injuries. Determination of these top players is amazing.

  • Comment posted by alan, at 22:33 14 Aug 2017

    Well done Rafa. Andy you have ticked the world number one box now just concentrate on a getting a couple more majors to cap a brilliant career.

  • Comment posted by sam, at 17:49 14 Aug 2017

    Footyfan. Federer admitted that he didn't play the clay season including the French Open because Nadal was playing so well and he knew that he couldn't beat him. Nadal and Federer are both great players.

  • Comment posted by Barrow-boy, at 23:10 14 Aug 2017

    To Just Tim,

    It is a fact he lost last week but you need to look at more facts stretching back about 12 months and then compare that to every other players facts to see who has performed best in that period. Factually Nadal is the best in that period and he is now Number 1.

  • Comment posted by yorkieboycanada, at 18:31 14 Aug 2017

    Murray would probably have lost the ranking at some point this year as he has so many points to defend during the last half of the season. I think Roger's chance of regaining #1 has probably gone as I don't think his body will allow him to play many tournaments after USO - If Rafa wins Cincinatti then he will be very difficult to overhaul assuming he also does well at US Open

  • Comment posted by U15401290, at 22:24 14 Aug 2017

    @will: You are not being fair about the points Murray amassed to get to no.1 last year. He got there by virtue of:
    Wimbledon = 2,000 points
    2 X Masters titles = 2,000 points - and not forgetting the tour finals, where he beat all-comers including Djoko and Stan = 1,500 points. That's 5,500 points from 'major' events, not minor ones!

  • Comment posted by Steve, at 18:19 14 Aug 2017

    Sensible call rather than risk further injury.

    Shame to see so many top players not competing in Cincinnati, but it does give some of the next generation a big opportunity.

    Congrats to Rafa on regaining the top spot. Well deserved from his performances, and at the very least the greatest clay player of all time.

  • Comment posted by Sam, at 18:04 14 Aug 2017

    I feel like I'm in a time warp, but long may it continue. Watching the revival of these two greats has been an absolute pleasure, starting with the Australian Open, and topped by Roger's Wimbledon success. We should appreciate every single tournament that Rafa and Fed compete in.

  • Comment posted by Bolivian Limelight, at 00:28 15 Aug 2017

    Sadly, Andy missed his chance. This was to have been his year for mopping up Grand Slams, but "uneasy lies the head that wears the crown". Personally, I doubt he'll win another Grand Slam. If he doesn't, he'll still have 3 more than the rest of us. Very great respect to a very fine player.

  • Comment posted by U16651053, at 20:11 14 Aug 2017

    Congrats Rafa, well deserved after a highly impressive season so far. Mind you, Federer is right behind him so he may not finish the year as N1.

    Interestingly Federer's no show keeps Murray ranked 2nd (Fed could have lost 1st round and still overtaken Murray); I don't think either will play before the US open so this gives Murray a better seeding; wonder if this will prove critical?

  • Comment posted by Finkelstein, at 19:18 14 Aug 2017

    Well done Nadal on No. 1 ranking. Great to see the Federer and Nadal battling each other again for Grand Slam titles and the No. 1 spot. Two all time greats. Hope they are around for years to come. They are both Class players.

  • Comment posted by Yasir, at 17:28 14 Aug 2017

    Hope he's withdrawn as a precaution and its not a serious injury. US open should be the goal and not getting the number 1 ranking.

  • Comment posted by U16665210, at 17:21 14 Aug 2017

    Go Rafa!
    Who'd have thought.

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