Take that Federer. Nadal has won his fifth straight title (most of them huge), and is now on the verge of taking over the No. 1 ranking from Federer. Nadal had simply no trouble with Kiefer today and beat him 3 and 2 to win his second Toronto hard court masters.
Here is what I know today. Nadal is now guaranteed a run as number one. Coming to summer, we all knew that Nadal will have to do much better than last year and hope for Federer to stumble somehow in order for Rafa to take over the No. 1 ranking. Federer has stumbled enough now to give Nadal the opportunity to take over the No. 1 spot regardless of what Federer does. All Nadal needs to do is win Cincy and there is a good chance he will be No. 1 unless he beats Federer in the final.
Now here is what I don’t know. Nadal’s style of play maybe effective today but depending on the draw, there are still people out there who can hurt him on hard courts. Also, Nadal is injury prone so his reign could end with an injury. But at least he won’t be one of those No. 2s who never reached the No. 1 spot.
Is it just me or won’t it be weird to see Federer seeded No. 2 at the U.S. Open?