Nothing goofy about Nadal clinching the year-end No. 1

By Bonnie D. Ford
ESPN.com
(Archive)

Updated: October 21, 2008

Four Points

Nothing left undone
The news that Rafael Nadal had clinched the year-end No. 1, ending Roger Federer's run at four, spurred a lot of discussion about Pete Sampras' record of six straight finishes on top -- a record that now seems as unassailable as Joe DiMaggio's 56-game hitting streak. A quirkier aspect of Nadal's accomplishment is that he is the first left-handed player to hold the ATP year-end top spot since John McEnroe in 1984. (The last woman was Monica Seles, in 1992.) Left-handers, who comprise 10 percent or less of the general population, are fairly well represented in the ATP top 50 these days, with Nadal's fellow Spaniards Fernando Verdasco and Feliciano Lopez, France's Michael Llodra, Austria's Jurgen Melzer and Finland's Jarkko Nieminen all hitting with what surfers or skateboarders might call the goofy hand. Nadal wasn't born a lefty, of course, and his cross-dominance -- his uncle Toni persuaded him to practice hitting left-handed -- is an ironic parallel to mentor Carlos Moya, a natural lefty who elected to play righty.

Jankovic

Julian Finney/Getty Images

Jelena Jankovic recently became the first player in three years to win three titles in as many weeks.

Marathon woman
After a lot of collective whining from the gallery about the carousel at the top of the WTA rankings, Jelena Jankovic went out and did exactly what someone needed to do -- grabbed the brass ring and hung on. Jankovic won three straight tournaments before her second-round ouster in Zurich, which rung up her tour-high 80th match of the season. (Nadal tops the men's charts at 90 matches, boosted by extended Olympic and Davis Cup play.) Jankovic, never shy about detailing her numerous physical ailments, says she hasn't felt this healthy all season -- an interesting paradox in these times when tennis is trying to pare down schedules. We are unmoved by the argument that the indoor season produces "fluky" results or that fields are weaker this time of year. Jankovic has the same options to play (or not to play) as every other top woman, and brava to her for making that summit climb.

Flavia of the Week
Congrats to Venus Williams for winning the 38th title of her estimable career in Zurich, but her final opponent, Italy's Flavia Pennetta, also should be recognized. Pennetta, 26, had become somewhat of a burr under Williams' saddle, beating her the past three times they played -- including the previous week in Moscow, and an odd third-round French Open match in the gloaming last spring where Williams inexplicably didn't ask the umpire to halt play due to darkness. Pennetta has had her best results on clay but recently has shown moxie on hard courts as well. She reached the final in Los Angeles, made a best-ever Grand Slam event run to advance to the U.S. Open quarterfinals and ended Jankovic's hot streak on her way to the Zurich final. Pennetta stands at a career-high No. 14 this week.

Bringing home the bacon
Bob and Mike Bryan didn't have to wait long to get new corporate sponsorship when their deal with the beleaguered Countrywide mortgage company (taken over by Bank of America amid the recent reshuffling in the housing sector) expired this summer. The National Pork Board, which formerly sponsored NASCAR driver Jeff Gordon, stepped in, and the battling "Bros" now wear a patch on one sleeve that says, simply, "Pork." No word on whether they're obligated to ham it up on court now. The Bryans also are sponsored by the Crowne Plaza hotel chain. Their agent, John Tobias, said the pork deal is a trial run through the end of the season; members of the organization, which represents pork producers around the country, are trying to reach the affluent demographic represented by tennis. Meanwhile, Bob Bryan's ailing left shoulder flared up again in Madrid, where the brothers lost in the semifinals, and he's back to the rehab routine in order to try to get well again in time for the Paris Masters Series event. The top-ranked Bryans have Daniel Nestor and Nenad Zimonjic hard on their heels and badly want to finish No. 1 for the fourth consecutive year.

Bonnie D. Ford covers tennis and Olympic sports for ESPN.com. She can be reached at bonniedford@aol.com.


ESPN Conversation

Stat of the week

Federer

$43,389,181: Roger Federer's career earnings. The Swiss No. 2 passed Pete Sampras for the all-time lead in the spoils-of-victory department last week at the Madrid Masters.

Quote of the week

Tiriac

"I don't think today's players need to have five people traveling with them -- there is a very good chance a coach will want to go one way, the physical trainer the other and someone else another. Who is the player going to listen to? What the coach has to do is to make damn sure he is smarter than the player, and that the player takes responsibility for everything he does." -- Madrid tournament chairman Ion Tiriac, who managed numerous top players including Boris Becker, Goran Ivanisevic and Marat Safin, in The Times Of London.

Rankings roulette

Simon

Four French players are in the ATP top 20 for the first time in modern rankings history. They include surprise Madrid finalist (and Nadal slayer) Gilles Simon at No. 10 and Gael Monfils, who's at a career-high No. 17. Other notables at career highs are Serbia's Viktor Troicki (53) and Japan's Kei Nishikori (64).

Senior year

Bjorkman

Jonas Bjorkman got a wheelchair ride around center court after he and the equally elderly (36) Kevin Ullyett won the Stockholm Open doubles title -- which was, coincidentally, Bjorkman's 700th career ATP doubles match win. The pair is in fifth place in the ATP doubles race and almost certain to be among the final eight teams who qualify for the championships.

Late-season labors

Spadea

While the top pros toil in Europe, some Americans are trying to beef up rankings and confidence on the USTA Pro Circuit this time of year. Two players on opposite ends of the experience spectrum did just that last week: 34-year-old Vince Spadea won a Challenger in Calabasas, Calif., for his second lower-level title in as many months, and 19-year-old Alexa Glatch scored her biggest professional victory to date in a $50,000 event in Toronto. Spadea, who had dipped as low as No. 112 earlier this season, is back up to No. 81 and probably safely in the Australian Open main draw, while Glatch, who has yet to play in Melbourne, earned a trip to the qualifying tournament there.