Novak Djokovic: Madrid, the First Step to Dethrone Rafael Nadal

Novak Djokovic has been the best man in tennis in 2011.

With a perfect 27-0 record, he's won five titles, had three victories over Roger Federer, two over Rafael Nadal and played the best ever start to a season in the history of the ATP tour.

This week, the Serbian will get his first chance to prove that this isn't just a great start, but that he can challenge the Spaniard for the top spot in the ATP rankings.

The real Madrid Masters 1000 starts today, when the top contenders begin their participation in just a couple of hours. Of course, most fans and media expect a Nadal vs. Djokovic final.

However, Rafa has a more complicated draw in “his” Masters. He starts today against Marcos Baghdatis, could potentially face Juan Martín del Potro in the next round, before a possible matchup in the semifinals against Roger Federer or Robin Soderling.

Meanwhile, Nole has an easier path to the final—a potential quarterfinal matchup against David Ferrer looking to be the most trouble he encounters before facing Nadal.

The clay season could be a key factor in the definition of the ATP rankings by the end of the year.

Djokovic has already taken his first tournament on clay at his home in Belgrade, but Nadal hasn’t lost a match on that surface since 2009. In fact, he's already taken the titles in the Monte-Carlo Masters and the Barcelona Open.

However, the Spaniard still has to defend the titles of the Madrid and Rome Masters 1000, plus Roland Garros—tournaments in which the Serbian barely got points in 2010.

For Rafa, it's crucial to repeat last year's domain, since Nole has a great chance to reduce the edge between them, just by reaching the later stages of those tournaments.

Djokovic has shown a great improvement in the past months. In my opinion, he is already the favorite to end 2011 as No. 1 in the rankings.

Madrid is the first step to dethrone Nadal.

You can follow Luis Herrera on Twitter @luisrha