World number two Rafael Nadal acknowledged his rival, Novak Djokovic, as a tough player to beat and to overtake in terms of the world rankings. Djokovic is currently ranked number one in the world and is now on his 101st week in the rankings’ summit. He is the top seed of the China Open 2013 tournament which starts on Monday, September 30.
“I know that my opponent is unbelievable. He’s able to not lose many matches during the whole season and it will be very tough to become number one,” Nadal said to the media in Beijing.
“But if I am still playing the same way that I did the last couple of months, I hope to have my chance here or in the next few weeks,” he added.
A respectable performance in Beijing means that Nadal could unseat Djokovic as world number one. However, Djokovic is unbeated in Beijing, having won the China Open in 2009, 2010 and last year. Nadal is the 2004 champion.
