Nadal Clinches Year-End No. 1

Current No. 1 Rafael Nadal ensured he will finish the year on top by winning his first two round robin matches at the World Tour Finals in London.  He accomplished the same feat in 2008 and 2010, but has never finished the year on top in consecutive years.  Can he defy the odds in 2014?

Here is a look back at the players who finished the season at No. 1 over the last ten years:

2013 - Rafael Nadal (ESP)
2012 - Novak Djokovic (SRB)
2011 - Novak Djokovic (SRB)
2010 - Rafael Nadal (ESP)
2009 - Roger Federer (SUI)
2008 - Rafael Nadal (ESP)
2007 - Roger Federer (SUI)
2006 - Roger Federer (SUI)
2005 - Roger Federer (SUI)
2004 - Roger Federer (SUI)

Nadal's "Magic Number" at 2

To clinch the year-end No.1 ranking, Rafael Nadal has a "magic number" of 2.  Nadal needs two wins (or two losses by Djokovic, or a combination of one win by Nadal and one loss by Djokovic) in the round-robin stage of the World Tour Finals.

Rafa currently has 12,030 ranking points, while Nole has 10,610.  Djokovic can still get a maximum of 12,300 points by season's end if he becomes an undefeated champion at WTF (which he accomplished last year) and if he wins his two Davis Cup Final matches.  By winning two round-robin matches, Nadal will add 400 points to his tally, pushing his total to an insurmountable 12,430.