Nadal Turns Up Heat On Federer in No. 1 Battle - 網球 Tennis

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Nadal Turns Up Heat On Federer in No. 1 Battle

It seems like just yesterday that Rafael Nadal was in danger of slipping to
No. 3 in the South African Airways ATP Rankings. Twice during the clay court
season Nadal needed to defeat No. 3 Novak Djokovic – in the semifinals of
Masters Series Hamburg and Roland Garros – to retain the No. 2 position,
which he has now held for 155 consecutive weeks.

在幾週之前一切看起來好像Nadal就要失去在No.2的位置了，在紅土賽季期間，Nadal
分別在Hamburg跟法網擊敗了Djokovic，也順利保住No.2的位置

But after becoming the first man since Bjorn Borg in 1980 to complete the
elusive Roland Garros-Wimbledon double, Nadal is poised to usurp the No. 1
ranking from Roger Federer, who has owned the top spot for a record 232
consecutive weeks.

就在Nadal成為了自1980年Borg以來第一位同時在同一年拿下法網跟溫布頓冠軍之後，
Nadal已經有準備要篡位成為球王的可能性，目前Federer則是已經在球王位置232週之
久了。

Nadal could seize the No. 1 ranking early next month at the conclusion of the
Western & Southern Financial Group Masters, the ATP Masters Series tournament
in Cincinnati. However, due to a calendar shift this season to accommodate
the Olympics, any change at the top is unlikely to happen before August 18 –
two weeks after Cincinnati.

Last year, ATP Masters Series events in Canada and Cincinnati were played two
weeks later in the season than they will be played this year. Because points
earned by players count towards their rankings for 52 weeks, the 850 points
Federer earned last year by reaching the Canada final and winning the
Cincinnati title will continue to count towards his ranking during the same
Masters Series tournaments this year. Normally the points would drop when a
player competes at the same event the following year. (The Rogers Cup in
Toronto, Canada, will this year be played July 21-27 and Cincinnati will be
played July 28-August 3).

Nadal要成為球王，最快得等到8/18才有可能，今年由於奧運比賽的關係，ATP把
Canada跟Cincinnati兩個大賽事提前了兩週開打，球員所贏取的ATP積分是會維持
52週的，正常來說在一個系列賽結束之後積分就會換成今年的積分而不再算去年的積分
但是就因為Canada跟Cincinnati兩個大賽事提前了兩週開打，所以去年Federer所
贏得的850分積分將會比今年開打時間多維持兩週。

But come August 18, those 850 points will no longer count towards Federer's
ranking. Should Federer and Nadal perform as well as each other this year in
Toronto and Cincinnati (e.g. they each make the semifinals at both
tournaments) then Federer's lead on August 18 will be cut to 150 points.

That razor-thin margin is the equivalent of the points difference between
winning an ATP Masters Series title (500 points) and finishing runner-up
(350). So the performances of Nadal and Federer at the ATP Masters Series
tournaments in Toronto and Cincinnati will likely determine who holds No. 1
during the Olympics (which will award points) and heading into the US Open.

If the No. 1 ranking has not changed hands before the US Open, Federer will
again be under intense pressure. He has 1000 points to defend after winning
his fourth consecutive title in New York last year. In contrast, Nadal has
just 150 points to defend after losing in the round of 16 last year.

如果球王位置在US Open以前沒換人的話，Federer將有巨大的保分壓力
去年Federer是Winner，要保1000分，Nadal只打進第四輪，要保150分。

Federer and Nadal have been No. 1 and 2 in the South African Airways ATP
Rankings every week since July 25, 2005 when Nadal became No. 2. Federer has
ranked a record 232 consecutive weeks at No. 1 (since Feb. 2, 2004) and Nadal
for 155 straight weeks at No. 2.

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