Rafael Nadal took a giant step in run-up to the August Olympic Games as the Spaniard won an ATP Masters event in Toronto on Sunday after victory over German Nicolas Kiefer 6-3, 6-2 in the final.
Nadal, who will be making his men's singles Olympic debut in Beijing, also looks to dethrone world number one Roger Federer after the Toronto win.
The 22-year-old Spaniard, who has ranked No. 2 for a record 157 weeks, will become the new No. 1 next Sunday if he wins the title at the Masters series in Cincinnati and Federer loses before the semifinals.
After Federer's second round loss to Gilles Simon earlier this week, Nadal has now cut the gap to a mere 300 points and is potentially just one week away from ending Federer's 234 week reign (since February 2004) at the top spot.
"Every player wants to be No. 1, I would love to be No. 1, but I am No. 2 right now," Nadal told the ATP website after the final.
"I'm very happy for being No. 2. Because with my titles, with my points, in a normal situation I would have been No. 1 before. So I think I have to be happy, very happy anyway."
Nadal was dominant throughout in tricky conditions in Sunday's final, giving Kiefer little chance to make an impression. He broke serve in the fifth game to lead 3-2 and again at 5-3 as Kiefer surrendered the first set.
After a tense game at 2-2, where Nadal eventually held serve for 3-2, the Spaniard then went on to break Kiefer immediately for a 4-2 lead before breaking the German for a fourth time at 5-2, smashing an overhead on match point after 1 hour and 29 minutes.
"Well, the result was easier than the match I think," said Nadal. "But I have a tough moment at 2-2 in the second set. A lot of breakpoints against me. So it was a difficult moment.
"And it was very difficult to play today, a lot of wind, moving a lot. It's not all the time in the same direction. Finally I win, so matches like this are very important. The only thing is win."
The victory is Nadal's 30th ATP singles title, making him the third youngest player to capture 30 titles.
He has won 29 straight matches since falling in the second round to Juan Carlos Ferrero at Masters Series Rome on May 7. He has since gone on to capture his first title at Masters Series Hamburg, his fourth successive Roland Garros title and his first grass-court title at Queen's Club, and to defeat five-time defending champion Federer in the Wimbledon final.
(Xinhua News Agency July 28, 2008)