ATP: Rafael Nadal with 600th week in the top 3 only behind Roger Federer
Memorable anniversary for Rafael Nadal. Since Monday, the Spaniard has had 600 weeks in the top 3 of the ATP world rankings and is only behind Roger Federer .
by Michael Rothschädl
last edit: Feb 10, 2020, 06:58 pm
It is reserved for very few players to make the leap into the top three in the world rankings at least once in their career. Probably also because some players have almost booked a regular place in this elite round. They include the "Big Three" as befits their class: Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic. In a recently published statistic, it is the three exceptional players who take the place at the top - only Jimmy Conners completes the comparison. This statistic is about the athletes who have been in the top 3 in the world rankings for most of the weeks.
Roger Federer leads clearly
This list is headed by Roger Federer from Switzerland - just like the list with the most weeks in the world number one spot. The Maestro has a very comfortable lead, 148 weeks ahead of its first pursuer. The equivalent of almost three years that the 38-year-old is in front in this comparison. His first pursuit is the man who is only one triumphant behind him in the Grand Slam title. Of course we are talking about Rafael Nadal. The Mallorcan has broken the 600-week barrier in the top 3 since Monday.
Jimmy Conners is third. The American played professional tennis from 1972-1996 and was able to collect eight Grand Slam trophies in his career. This is also reflected in the top three weeks: At 591 weeks, he is only just behind Rafael Nadal. The fourth and youngest of the "Big Three" - Novak Djokovic took fourth place in this statistic. The Serb is in the top 3 at 569 weeks, but has nevertheless spent significantly more weeks at the top of the world rankings than Rafael Nadal. In this statistic, the 32-year-old is not missing too much on Roger Federer: If the Serb holds the number one, he could overtake the Swiss in October.
Federer, Nadal and Djokovic are also currently in the top 3 in the world rankings - the latter two also have a comfortable cushion over their first pursuer, Dominic Thiem. But not Roger Federer, who is only 85 points ahead of the Austrian. At the tournament in Rio De Janeiro, Dominic Thiem could temporarily stop the Swiss champion's top 3 o'clock. Given its gigantic lead, that won't change much in the statistics anyway - at least in the near future.