Rafael Nadal matches Jimmy Connors on ultimate ranking record

With the coronavirus outbreak, Rafael Nadal had to wait for five and a half months to earn the ultimate ranking record. On Monday, the 20-time Major champion joined Jimmy Connors on 789 consecutive weeks in the top-10, ready to move ahead of the American and steal the record in seven days. Both Connors and Nadal have been ranked in the elite group for over 15 years without leaving it, and Rafa should extend it for at least a couple of more years if he avoids injuries. The 16-year-old Nadal was ranked just outside the top-200 at the beginning of 2003, playing on a very high level to continue the meteoric progress through the ATP ranking list. After 19 Challenger wins (four finals, including the title in Barletta) and the third-round appearance in Monte Carlo, Rafa cracked the top-100 in April and stayed on a steady course in the following months at such a young age, securing the place among the 50 chosen players in August.

Despite a nasty injury that halted his rise in the spring of 2004, Nadal won the first ATP title in August and didn't lose too many points ahead of 2005. That proved to be his first great season, competing in the fourth round of the Australian Open before conquering Costa do Sauipe and Acapulco. The best was yet to come for an extraordinary teenager, standing two points away from winning the Miami crown against Roger Federer and lifting the first Masters 1000 trophy in Monte Carlo.

Rafael Nadal has spent 789 consecutive weeks in the top-10 since April 2005!

Eager for more, Rafa headed to Barcelona with no rest and stood as the last man standing, beating Juan Carlos Ferrero in the best-of-five final to grab another title and additional 300 points that sent him into the top-10 for the first time in a career. At 18 years and ten months, Rafa became the eighth-youngest player in the mentioned group since the beginning of the ATP ranking in 1973, trailing only to Aaron Krickstein, Michael Chang, Boris Becker, Bjorn Borg, Mats Wilander, Andre Agassi and Andrei Medvedev.

Entering the top-10 honor on April 25, 2005, Nadal has never left the group, counting one elite season after another to pass Pete Sampras, Ivan Lendl and Roger Federer, finally catching the leader of the pack Jimmy Connors today. After almost ten years at the top, Nadal started to lose ground due to injuries in the second part of 2014, winning the crown at Roland Garros but staying away from Majors in 2015 and 2016. Those two seasons were crucial for Rafa when we talk about the top-10 record streak, staying among the world's best players despite performing miles from his best tennis and getting back where he belongs in 2017. In the previous four years, Nadal was the player to beat alongside Novak Djokovic, settling in the top-2 and conquering the 20th Major crown a few weeks ago at Roland Garros, cementing his status of one of the greatest players of all time. 

from Tennis World USA https://ift.tt/2THcIWR