Nadal, Jankovic both to become #1
There was a chance that both Rafael Nadal and Jelena Jankovic could have become #1 today, but that wasn’t to be. Jankovic and Nadal both lost before winning their respective tournaments, but in the process they both accumulated enough points to take the #1 spot. Jankovic will do so next Monday (the 11th), and Nadal will do so on Monday the 18th.
According to the ranking projections released by the tour Saturday, Jankovic will have 3,620 points to Ivanovic’s 3,612 on Aug. 11. Jankovic is the 18th player in the WTA’s history to be ranked #1.
With Jankovic climbing to the top spot, Nick will now have 10 players that he has coached go on to become #1 in the world! Jankovic joins Andre Agassi, Boris Becker, Monica Seles, Martina Hingis, Marcelo Rios, Maria Sharapova, and Venus and Serena Williams as Nick’s 10 players to have attained that ranking!! Jankovic grew up at the Academy. She was here from 1997-2003 (from age 12 to 18). During those years, she was here with Maria Sharapova and Tatiana Golovin. All three were about the same age and used to compete with each other on a daily basis.
On the men’s side, Nadal’s 32nd consecutive win clinched the #1 ranking. The win came over Nicolas Lapentti on Friday. If he would have gone on to win the tournament, he would have become #1 today. He didn’t (lost to Djokovic in the semis), but he has enough points to overtake Federer on the 18th of August.
“It’s emotional,” Nadal said. “I know I’m going to be No. 1. Getting No. 1 is a present for a lot of work in the past, so it’s satisfying.”
Congratulations to both Jelena and Rafael on this great accomplishment!
Congrats not only to Jelena and Rafa, but also to you, Nick!
Congrats to Rafa and Jelena!
Oddly enough, Ivanovic is my favorite player and has been for 3 years, but I’m glad Jelena is number one now.