Peak Show: Nadal Will Be New World No. 1 - Rafa Nadal nuovo numero uno del mondo
Tennis Week

It was a pupil-popping shot that explosively illustrated the exceptional effort Nadal has exerted in his 158-week run as World No. 2 and propelled him to within one game of the top spot.
On a night in which no ball seemed out of his reach, Nadal ran right to the top of tennis wrenching the World No. 1 ranking from Roger Federer with a 7-6(3), 6-1 victory over Nicolas Lapentti to earn his 32nd consecutive victory and roar into the Western & Southern Financial Group Masters semifinals in Cincinnati. He took over as No. 2 on July 25, 2005 and now Nadal's ascension to the top is just a matter of time.
"I'm very happy because I fight a lot the last few years to try to be number one," Nadal said immediately after the match. "I was happy being number two. For sure to be number one was always a goal of mine so I am very happy to be number one."
The four-time French Open champion will be the 24th man in the history of the ATP rankings (since 1973) to occupy the top spot, joining compatriots, Mallorcan mentor Carlos Moya, who was briefly No. 1in 1999 and Juan Carlos Ferrero, who rose to the top in 2003.
He will aim to widen the distance between himself and third-ranked Novak Djokovic in Saturday's semifinals. Djokovic, who defeated teenage training partner Ernests Gulbis, 6-3, 6-4, today, scored a 6-3, 6-2 win over Nadal in the Indian Wells' semifinals before beating Mardy Fish to win the season's first Masters Series shield. Since then, Nadal has scored three straight wins over the Serbian engaging in entertaining wins in the Hamburg final, French Open semifinal and Queen's Club final.
Nadal, who typically takes a measured approach in his pre-match comments, said he needs to lift his level considerably to beat Djokovic again.
"If I beat him, I have to play very well — better than today, better than yesterday, my best," Nadal said.
Federer has held the top spot for 235 consecutive weeks (since February 2, 2004), but the muscular Mallorcan has been second to none throughout a season in which he preserved his immaculate record on the red clay of Paris in claiming his fourth consecutive Roland Garros crown then seizing five-time champ Federer's Wimbledon championship in an enthralling four hour, 48-minute Wimbledon final that will be remember as a match for the ages.
Though Nadal took the court for this nationally-televised match knowing No. 1 was within his reach, it was the 31-year-old Ecuadorian who impressed for the first 40 minutes of the match.
The 89th-ranked Lapentti summoned the level of play that helped him rise to No. 6 in the world in 1999 in directing his attack right at Nadal's forehand througout the first set and often coming up with forehand winners of his own to end several exchanges.
He's reached the peak of his profession, but Nadal, while allowing himself a smile while raising his arms to soak in the moment like a shower, said he'll be holding off on a celebration for a while.
"No party...no," Nadal told ESPN's Chris Fowler after the match. "Party after Davis Cup."

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Rafa Nadal nuovo numero uno del mondo

In una serata durante la quale nessuna pallina sembrava fuori dalla sua portata, Nadal ha messo fine alla sua rincorsa di 158 settimane da numero due delle classifiche. La semifinale di Cincinnati e la 32esima vittoria consecutiva gli consentiranno, entro brevissimo tempo, di occupare la poltrona di nuovo padrone del tennis mondiale. “ Sono felicissimo perche’ in questi anni ho lavorato duramente per poter raggiungere questo obiettivo. Ero gia’ felice di essere numero due, ma ora, con la prima posizione ottenuta, lo sono ancora di piu’”. Il pluricampione del Roland Garros diventa il 24esimo giocatore della storia a issarsi al primo posto del ranking,e terzo del suo paese, dopo Moya nel 1999 e Ferrero nel 2003. Nella semifinale di oggi,dovra’ vedersela con Novak Djokovic. Il serbo, che ha facilmente disposto del lettone Gulbis per 6-3 6-4, ha vinto l’ultimo confronto giocato sul cemento fra i due, nella semifinale di Indian Wells, prima di subire un filotto di tre sconfitte contro lo spagnolo, ad Amburgo, Parigi e Queen’s. Nadal , sempre piuttosto cauto nelle dichiarazioni pre partita, ritiene di dover alzare il proprio livello di gioco per poter superare Nole. “Per batterlo, devo giocare benissimo, meglio di quanto ho fatto ieri. L’ecuadoregno Lapennti, infatti, si e’ sorprendentemente rivelato un avversario ostico per Nadal, che ha patito la partenza sprint e la tattica agggressiva del suo avversario, tornato ai livelli del 1999 quando fu capace di raggiungere la sesta posizione del ranking. Federer abdica dopo un dominio durato 235 settimane, ma Rafa quest’anno non e’ stato secondo a nessuno, mantenendo il suo dominio sulla terra rossa e portandosi a casa il titolo di Wimbledon al termine di una finale che restera’ fra gli annali. Ha raggiunto il massimo traguardo per un tennista, eppure Nadal, seppure sia apparso molto sorridente dopo la matematica consacrazione, preferisce rinviare ogni festeggiamento. “Non ci sara’ nessun party”, ha dichiarato Rafa, “ quelli li faccio dopo la Coppa Davis”.