Long-time coming but Rafa finally gets what he pressed for

RAFAEL Nadal described as “unbel his climb back to the world number one spot for the first time in three years yesterday.

The Spaniard, who learned he was going to reclaim the ATP summit a week ago, last topped the men’s charts in July 2014.

The 31-year-old Spaniard, who won his 15th Grand Slam title this year at Roland Garros, deposes Britain’s Andy Murray, who withdrew from the tournaments in Montreal and Cincinnati with a hip injury.

Nadal, who has spent 141 weeks in the top spot, has struggled with knee injuries since first becoming number one in August 2008 after a Cincinnati semifinal run. He has admitted doubting he could ever regain the top spot after so many years. “Being number one after all the things that I have been going through the last couple of years is something unbel the Spanish great said.

Nadal, knocked out in the Cincinnati quarterfinals last week by Australian Nick Kyrgios, had slipped to as low as 13th in the ATP rankings midway through 2015.

And his path back to the top one week before the closing Grand Slam of the season at the US Open was hailed by ATP executive chairman and president Chris Kermode,.

“To regain the number one ranking nine years after having first reached it is unprecedented,” he said.

“Rafa has been setting records throughout his remarkable career and this one is as impressive as any. It shows incredible dedication and longevity, and we congratulate him on this amazing achievement.”

Kyrgios’s progress to Sunday’s Cincinnati final earned him a fiverung rise to 18th with the man who beat him, Bulgarian Grigor Dimitrov, breaking into the top 10 in ninth.

ATP rankings on August 21 1. Rafael Nadal (Sp) 7.645 (+1) 2. Andy Murray (Brit) 7.150 (-1) 3. Roger Federer (Swiss) 7.145 4. Stan Wawrinka (Swiss) 5.690 5. Novak Djokovic (Srb) 5.325 6. Alexander Zverev (Ger) 4.470 (+1) 7. Marin Cilic (Cro) 4.155 (-1) 8. Dominic Thiem (Aut) 4.030 9. Grigor Dimitrov (Bul) 3.710 (+2) 10. Kei Nishikori (Jpn) 3.195 (-1) 11. Milos Raonic (Can) 2.870 (-1) 12. Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (Fra) 2.690 13. David Goffin (Bel) 2.525 14. John Isner (US) 2.425 (+5) 15. Roberto Bautista (Sp) 2.425 (1). — AFP