Murray: Nadal can be new world No1
Andy Murray is backing Rafael Nadal to take over as the new world number one after the Spaniard ruthlessly took his unbeaten run to 29 matches with victory in the Toronto Masters last night.
Wimbledon champion Nadal held off a gallant semi-final effort from the Scot before then going on to complete a impressive 6-3, 6-2 victory over German Nicolas Kiefer in the final.
Victory in Toronto took Nadal to a fifth consecutive title and saw him close the gap on Roger Federer at the top of the ATP rankings list to just 300 points. And Murray believes the 22- year-old is in prime position to take over at the top. “He’s definitely doing a lot of things better than he was in the past,” Murray said after his 7-6 (7-2), 6-3 semi-final defeat to the Spaniard.
“I think he’s moving better on hard courts, and I think he’s sort of changing the pace of the ball a little bit more and not playing so far behind the baseline like he did in the past.
“That’s why I think he’ll be number one in the world soon.”
Nadal could even move ahead of Federer at the Cincinnati Masters this week should he win and the Swiss No1 lose in the semi-finals. Federer, Nadal and Murray have all been handed first round byes.