Wimbledon 2012: Rafael Nadal Needs Win to Regain Status as Best in the World

Rafael Nadal is the king of clay, but he needs to win at Wimbledon to become king of the sport again.

Technically he couldn't catch Novak Djokovic in the ATP rankings with a win at the All England Club (Nadal trails Djokovic by 2,220 points), but after an impressive French Open victory, who would doubt Nadal's supremacy in men's tennis if he wins a second straight Grand Slam?

No one could.

Nadal has been on top of the tennis world twice before. He ended Roger Federer's over-four-year stay atop the tennis world in August of 2008. Just after, he defeated Federer to win his first Wimbledon.

He stayed ranked No. 1 until June 2009. He would regain his status as the world's top player in June 2010, and he held it until July 2011 when Djokovic began his current reign.

Even though the points may not reflect Nadal's ascension back to the top, his play has told the story, but if he doesn't win at Wimbledon, it will be easy to call his excellence one-dimensional for this aspect of his career.

Djokovic won an epic five-set battle against Nadal at the Australian Open. Nadal returned the favor last month at Roland Garros, defeating Djokovic in four sets to capture the French Open a record seventh time.

For Nadal, Beating Djokovic, or at least out-lasting him at Wimbledon, would be huge.

Things seem aligned properly for Nadal to seize the top spot, officially and logically. He has won Wimbledon twice in his career: in 2008 and in 2010.

Those were the two years that he seized the top ranking in the sport. Nadal's performance at Wimbledon dictates his status atop the sport.

Winning the sport's biggest tournament on grass shows Rafa's overall brilliance. That is the only way he'll catch Djokovic in the ATP rankings and in the minds of logical tennis fans.

Follow Brian Mazique and Franchiseplay.net for reactions, analysis and news from the world of sports and sports video games

Follow @BrianMazique

Follow @franchiseplay