Novak Djokovic Climbs Past Rafael Nadal in the Mutua Madrid Masters 1000

Novak Djokovic, flirting with the opportunity to rise above Rafael Nadal and unseat the nine-time Grand Slam Champion as the No. 1 player in the world, finds himself in an advantageous position.

When the year-end Masters comes around, we may see Djokovic ending 2011 as the No. 1 ranked player in the World.

A full year younger than the Spaniard, the Serbian star looks to take this opportunity with a helping of luck for the number No. 1 ranking.

Although Djokovic tore down the 37-match win streak of Nadal, he has one built of his own, a 32-match winning streak.

The other fact that weighs heavily on both Nadal and Djokovic, is that Nadal won three Masters 1000 events during last years clay court season, plus the French Open.

Having defeated Nadal in Madrid, you could look at it as an opportunity lost in favor of the Serbian Djokovic.

The next tournament up for the league of players who frequently flirt with the best at the top of the rankings is the Internazionali BNL d’Italia in Rome, a Masters 1000 South African Airways ATP World Tour event.

Keep in mind that Roland Garros can work in the same way as the ATP point system, as it relates to a defending points factor.

Nadal won the Roland Garros Grand Slam clay event last year in France, and now has to reach at least the Semifinals this week to give him an opportunity to stay No. 1.

Meanwhile, Djokovic has to make it at least to the Quarters. With the form he has been showing all season, one hopes he may be able to reach that with his current arsenal.

“If I want to reach No. 1, I have to play consistent because that’s what Rafa will do and the rest of the players,” said Djokovic. “It has changed, I have a different mindset right now, I’m more stable and I know how to think right.”

When we compare these two bright and shining stars of the ATP World Tour, we can draw some conclusions with the statistics provided by the ATP Staff.

The last match-up between the two lasted two hours and 18 minutes. Each player was equal on aces, with three apiece.

Although the first serve percentage favored Nadal at 69 percent to Djokovic’s 56 percent, other factors weigh in decidedly for Novak.

We can flip around the numbers representing first serve points won with 69 percent for Djokovic and 55 percent for Nadal. We can look further to see second serve points won as well.

The second service games were 52 percent for Djokovic to 39 percent for Nadal. Return points are another factor into this drawn-out affair.

Now we notice 44-to-30 in favor of Djokovic for first serve points won and 60-to-38 for second serve points won, both in favor of Novak. In just about every comparison, Djokovic was King.

“I just started the clay-court season. It was a perfect start with the two tournaments that I won and I need to stay dedicated and focused on the upcoming events,” said Djokovic.

In conclusion, we begin to hear the rumblings of the drums and cavalcade of wildlife as the feet of the players on the ATP World Tour stop in Rome.