US Open 2019: Rafael Nadal completes 750 consecutive weeks in top ten of ATP rankings
A day after winning his fourth US Open and 19th Grand Slam title, Rafael Nadal has completed 750 weeks ranked inside the top-ten of the ATP rankings.
The Spanish left-hander made his debut in the top-ten after beating Spain's Juan Carlos Ferrero in the 2005 Torneo Godó final.
Since then, Nadal has been ranked inside the top-ten for an uninterrupted period of 750 weeks, which is a record among the active players.
Nadal went past Roger Federer's tally for most consecutive weeks inside the top-ten on 13th May 2019 following the conclusion of the 2019 Madrid Masters.
The average year-end ranking points for the 10th ranked player in the last five seasons is 3102. Considering this as the top-ten threshold, Nadal's reign, at worst, would not end before Roland Garros next year, assuming the Spaniard does not play another match on tour from now until the end of the French Open next summer.
Nadal now trails top-ranked Novak Djokovic by 660 points and enjoys a handsome 2095 point lead over third-placed Roger Federer.
With no points to defend for the remainder of the season, Nadal is in prime position to reclaim the no.1 ranking from Djokovic and end the year as the top-ranked player on tour for the fifth time in his career.
The Spaniard's 196 weeks as the world no. 1 is the fifth-best in the Open Era, behind only Roger Federer (310), Pete Sampras (286), Ivan Lendl (270), Jimmy Connors and Novak Djokovic (268 each).
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