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Nadal, Djokovic battle for No.2
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May 17, 2008 16:08 IST

Rafael Nadal [Images] and Novak Djokovic will battle for No. 2 Ranking in the semi finals of the Hamurg Masters on Saturday.

Djokovic, who has been No. 3 since July 9, 2007, leads the ATP Race with three titles and will appear in his sixth semifinal in eight tournaments this year. Djokovic captured his maiden Grand Slam title at the Australian Open in January and has also won two ATP Masters Series at Indian Wells and Rome. 

Second seed Nadal has a 9-3 tournament record and leads the ATP circuit in 2008 with a 35-7 mark.

This year the Spaniard has won two clay-court titles at ATP Masters Series Monte Carlo (d. Federer) and Barcelona (d. Ferrer). He has also finished runner-up at Chennai and ATP Masters Series Miami [Images].

Nadal has a 6-3 career advantage and has won all three of their clay-court meetings (2006-Roland Garros; 2007-ATP Masters Series Rome; 2007-Roland Garros), but Djokovic did win their most recent clash in the semifinals of ATP Masters Series Indian Wells in March.

SATURDAY PREVIEW-- TOP 3 SEEDS ADVANCE TO SEMIFINALS IN HAMBURG FOR FIRST TIME SINCE 1992

No. 1 Roger Federer vs. Andreas Seppi Federer leads 1-0
No. 2 Rafael Nadal vs. No. 3 Novak Djokovic Nadal leads 6-3 (3-0 on clay)

Nadal will drop his '07 Hamburg runner-up points (350) and Djokovic will lose his quarterfinal points (125) from last year's Hamburg. Nadal has ranked No. 2 a record 147 consecutive weeks since July 25, 2005. Djokovic has been No. 3 every week since July 9, 2007. The last player to rank No. 2 before Nadal was Lleyton Hewitt [Images] on July 18, 2005.

Nadal vs Djokovic Head-to-Head

Novak Djokovic (SRB) vs (2) Rafael Nadal (ESP)

Nadal Leads 6-3 (3-0 on clay)

06 Roland Garros (France [Images]) Clay QF Rafael Nadal 6-4, 6-4 ret (back)
07 ATP Masters Series Indian Wells (US) Hard F Rafael Nadal 6-2, 7-5
07 ATP Masters Series Miami (US) Hard QF Novak Djokovic 6-3, 6-4
07 ATP Masters Series Rome (Italy [Images]) Clay QF Rafael Nadal 6-2, 6-3
07 Roland Garros (France) Clay SF Rafael Nadal 7-5, 6-4, 6-2
07 Wimbledon (Great Britain) Grass SF Rafael Nadal 3-6, 6-1, 4-1 ret (toe blister)
07 ATP Masters Series Montreal (Canada [Images]) Hard SF Novak Djokovic 7-5, 6-3
07 Tennis Masters Cup (China) Hard RR Rafael Nadal 6-4, 6-4
08 ATP Masters Series Indian Wells (US) Hard SF Novak Djokovic 6-3, 6-2

Courtesy: ATP



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