Rafael Nadal’s return to the World No.1 position for the eighth time in his career was confirmed when the ATP rankings were released on Monday.
The Spaniard leapfrogs Novak Djokovic even though the Serb sealed his fifth Paris Masters title on Sunday.
Nadal, whose last stint at the top ended a year ago on November 4, 2018, withdrew from his semifinal against Shapovalov in Paris with an abdominal muscle strain.
Djokovic slips down the rankings because he loses the points that he won a year ago in London when Nadal was absent.
The 2019 battle between Nadal, winner of the French and US Opens, and Djokovic who triumphed in Australia and Wimbledon, is set to go to the wire as either could still finish the year at No. 1.
Scenarios
If the Spaniard does not play or fails to win a round-robin match at the World Tour Finals, Djokovic must claim two group-stage victories and make the final to pass him. Djokovic would also be sure of the year-end top ranking should he win the tournament and Nadal does not reach the semis.
Nadal first reached No. 1 on August 18, 2008 when he was just 22. He has spent 197 weeks at the top, the sixth highest in ATP history behind Roger Federer (310), Pete Sampras (286), Djokovic (275), Ivan Lendl (270) and Jimmy Connors (268).
The top-10: 1. Rafael Nadal 9,585 pts, 2. Novak Djokovic 8,945, 3. Roger Federer 6,190, 4. Daniil Medvedev 5,705, 5. Dominic Thiem 5,025.
6. Stefanos Tsitsipas 4,000, 7. Alexander Zverev 2,945, 8. Matteo Berrettini 2,670, 9. Roberto Bautista 2,540 and 10. Gael Monfils 2,530 .
