Novak Djokovic, the New ATP World No. 1

As much as I love Rafael Nadal, I will have to concede that Djokovic is now the Worlds No. 1. If my idol Rafa can graciously accept his defeat and tell the world that Novak Djokovic deserve to win the 2011 Wimbledon title and the World No 1 position, which has been shared for 8 years between only Rafa and Federer , then so must I.

The beauty of Rafael Nadal is his humility and grace, whether in triumph or defeat. And that is one thing that some players need to learn. I am gutted over his loss but Rafa even teaches us fans how easy it is to forget that this is a game where sometimes you can win and in other time you can lose.

"Today wasn't possible," Nadal said. "I tried my best, as always. Today, one player played better than me. I will try another time, next year."

And as the new ATP rankings come out, let us remember that these are just numbers. Rafa has gone as low as No 3 before but was able to overcome and get World No 1 rank again. I think what he needs to do is to think of ways to face and tackle his new rival Djokovic. He is still young and can still go along way but for now he needs to rest and take care of his injuries. I have said in my blog before that the illness in Doha seems to have affected him and his games then the foot injury. He is not 100% whole or maybe I am expecting too much from him or expect everything to be the same as his games in 2010.

He has reached a pinnacle that hasn't been climbed often, he is a player who has just about everything - the love and support of a good family and team, a beautiful girlfriend and a steady relationship, wealth, fame or rock star status, an outstanding tennis career, the support of sponsors and continuous sports gear endorsements, and the warm support of a huge fan base. What else can a man ask for? He has done it, he has made it to the top, he can continue to do so, but we know that Rafa is one who wouldn't rest on his laurels. And he will be back better than before.

Here is a look at the new rankings:

Pos	Name	Points	Pos Moved	Tourns Played
1	Djokovic, Novak	13,285	1	18
2	Nadal, Rafael	11,270	-1	22
3	Federer, Roger	9,230	0	21
4	Murray, Andy	6,855	0	20
5	Soderling, Robin	4,325	0	25
6	Ferrer, David	4,150	0	24
7	Monfils, Gael	2,780	1	21
8	Fish, Mardy	2,650	1	21
9	Berdych, Tomas	2,470	-2	26
10	Roddick, Andy	2,110	0	21

ATP Ranking and Wimbledon 2011

ATP top 20	Top 20 women's rankings
1 Rafael Nadal (Spa) 12070pts	1 Caroline Wozniacki (Den) 9915pts
2 Novak Djokovic (Ser) 12025	2 Kim Clijsters (Bel) 8215
3 Roger Federer (Swi) 9230	3 Vera Zvonareva (Rus) 7935
4 Andy Murray (Gbr) 6625	4 Na Li (Chn) 6475
5 Robin Soderling (Swe) 4595	5 Victoria Azarenka (Blr) 5920
6 David Ferrer (Spa) 4150	6 Maria Sharapova (Rus) 5221
7 Tomas Berdych (Cze) 3490	7 Francesca Schiavone (Ita) 4646
8 Gael Monfils (Fra) 2780	8 Petra Kvitova (Cze) 4018
9 Mardy Fish (USA) 2440	9 Marion Bartoli (Fra) 3740
10 Andy Roddick (USA) 2200	10 Samantha Stosur (Aus) 3405
11 Jurgen Melzer (Aut) 2175	11 Andrea Petkovic (Ger) 3280
12 Viktor Troicki (Ser) 1930	12 Svetlana Kuznetsova (Rus) 3210
13 Richard Gasquet (Fra) 1925	13 Agnieszka Radwanska (Pol) 3056
14 Stanislas Wawrinka (Swi) 1920	14 Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova (Rus) 3055
15 Nicolas Almagro (Spa) 1875	15 Jelena Jankovic (Ser) 3050
16 Gilles Simon (Fra) 1745	16 Julia Goerges (Ger) 2560
17 Mikhail Youzhny (Rus) 1740	17 Kaia Kanepi (Est) 2545
18 Florian Mayer (Ger) 1600	18 Yanina Wickmayer (Bel) 2350
19 Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (Fra) 1480	19 Ana Ivanovic (Ser) 2330
20 Juan Ignacio Chela (Arg)1475	20 Shuai Peng (Chn) 2240,

WIMBLEDON 2011: Important Dates

Qualifying: 13 June - 16 June

The Championships: 20 June – 3 July

Seeds Announced: 15 June

The Draw: 17 June

Rafa Bags 6th Roland Garros Title

Despite the series of defeat, Rafa made sure he bagged the French Open title for the 6th time, making him at par with former World No 1 Bjorn Borg. Although he had some problems with John Isner from the start he was able to do better in the next games. He was told by Uncle Toni that he wasn't going to win the Cup that way...and Rafa needed to relax. As the video shows, Rafa has really felt the pressure although even if he lost the French Open title he would still remain the top-seeded.

Roger Federer though has been doing good. In fact he broke Djokovic's winning streak when he won the semis. It's just that Federer has not won over Rafa in Roland Garros but even Rafa has said that yopu never know. He came into the game knowing he might win or lose but did everything to win. But if Roger have won...he would have been considered the greatest player having won at least 2 championships in of each of the four majors. Rafa's victory made him still a part of the equation.

Either way, I think one of the winner in this game was the sports apparel worn by the 2 players. One can easily notice that both Rafa and Roger were wearing the iconic swoosh on all their sports gear, from the headband to the shirts, shorts,socks down to their shoes and jackets, differing only in color with Federer in red and Nadal in blue.

Novak Djokovic Wins Over Rafael Nadal 4 Times In A Row

For the past two years Rafael Nadal has remained undefeated in clay and has been considered “The King of Clay” until Novak Djokovic started dominating this year. Since his win in the Davis Cup, Djokovic has had the longest winning streak including beating Rafa in two straight wins in the surface he is most proficient, Madrid and the match in Foro Italico. Nadal had lost only one match in six years in the Italian Open in Rome. Much as he did at Roland Garros and Monte Carlo, Nadal owned Rome. Novak also made history by becoming the second player (Nikolay Davydenko) to beat the nine-time major champion four times in a row.

Rafa has managed to remain the top-seeded as push forward to the French Open but it looks like Djokovik will be doing everything to ensure that Rafa does not get hold of the French Open trophy for the 6^th time. And the numbers that will take away the No. 1 position from Rafa is also getting smaller and smaller. I do feel that Rafa’s illness has something to do with that. Since he got sick I don’t think he has truly recovered. Though Noval believes, Rafa is still the man to beat. It is believe that this was the first time in ATP World Tour Masters 1000 history (since 1990), the same two players met in four finals in same year.

And it looks like the Djoker is being very serious about becoming World No. 1 this year. He now works with two trainers including one who worked with former No 1 player Thomas Muster who has won most of his titles in clay. Seems like all the training he got from this is working as Djokovic is continuously moving forward. Not satisfied with being No 3, not even No 2, with more than $5 million he has already won this year, the best sports gear and sports apparel, off-court endorsements deals, Novak is still aiming for more and it looks like everything else is conspiring to give him the chance.

College Football Scandal, Again

In September of last year I blogged about Reggie Bush returning his Heismann Trophy amidst the scandal of him receiving impermissible benefits which was in violation of an NCAA rule. My point then was that these would be NFL professionals should know the rules and strictly follow it. Not only does it make sure that your name, school and championship is not tainted by any scandal but it sets what you can be in the future. There will be monetary benefits as well as fame and these things can easily corrupt a young man. And if they are not guided properly this practice that may have started in college may go on in their professional life.

Last December NCAA suspended Ohio State quarterback Terelle Pryor and four others for the first games of the 2011 season and suspended one other for one game. They violated the NCAA rule that states they cannot sell memorabilia such as jerseys, championship rings, and trophies while they are still in school. The rule against selling sports gear while playing NCAA is quite new since it has just been added after players from the University of Georgia were caught selling a jersey and some championship rings on eBay in 2003. Again, these football players are flouting rules even when they are just in college. Can you imagine what they might be doing once they have the fame, the endorsements, the money and the women?

What was worse about this is the fact that Ohio State coach Jim Tressel found out about it in April from an email that was sent to him but never reported it. He was suspended for two games and was fined $250,000 but NCAA is still investigating the matter and might impose steeper sanctions against Tressel. Coach Tressel was publicly reprimanded and apologized Tuesday night, saying he had let some people down. And I have to add that he not only let down the people of Ohio but more importantly his players because he had a wrong idea of protection. He did not report because he was protecting his kids knowing they would be taken out of the game. The point is these players know that there is a rule against selling sports gear like championship rings, uniform pieces, “gold pants” charms, and awards but still they did it. Then they should be accountable for what they did. Not doing anything about them breaking the rule or any wrong doing is sending other people, especially kids, the wrong message. It would seem that it is but right to keep quiet about broken rules so that they would not be punished.

The NCAA is increasing their enforcement and a lot are getting caught by it and thus there has been a deluge of scandals over the past year. There have been criticisms over some of their decisions but players and coaches alike are starting to realize that NCAA does have an idea of what’s going on and they have better ways of getting information these days.

Australian Open: “Rafa Slam” Quest Is On

Rafael Nadal of Spain looks on in his first round match against Marcos Daniel of Brazil during day two of the 2011 Australian Open.. © Lucas Dawson/Getty Images

The Spaniard favorite Rafael Nadal played his first game at the 2011 Australian Open against Brazilian Marcos Daniel with a retirement. Daniel injured his left knee during a training two days ago and though he tried to play valiantly, pain did not make it possible for him to continue. Rafa sensed his trouble and made a strategy that made Daniel move around the court which made it impossible for him to continue at that pace. He knew that if you are not 100 % focused in the game it is not possible to win and more especially if you are playing against a powerful players like the top-seeded Nadal.

Rafael Nadal of Spain serves in his first round match against Marcos Daniel of Brazil during day two of the 2011 Australian Open © Lucas Dawson/Getty Images

Rafael Nadal of Spain in his first round match during day two of the 2011 Australian Open. © Ryan Pierse/Getty Images

Rafael Nadal of Spain signs autographs for the crowd following victory in his first round men's singles match against Marcos Daniel of Brazil. © WILLIAM WEST/Getty Images

After 47 minutes, less than a practice time, Nadal went out with his sports gear to receive the greetings from his fans and to sign autographs.

Nadal waves to the crowd following victory in his first round. © WILLIAM WEST/Getty Images

Images: Australian Open