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8/2/08 3:41 PM | David Cox
With darkness falling on another enthralling day's play in Cincinatti, Rafa Nadal confirmed what we've all been expecting for the past 6 weeks, bringing the curtain down on the Federer reign as world no 1 with a quarter-final win over Nicholas Lapentti
The official changing of the guard could be as early as Sunday but the latest Nadal will have to wait is till August 18th and that's assuming he exits early in the Olympics too.
Having chased the Swiss for the top spot for 3 seasons now, the Spaniard has surely had to be the most patient world no 2 in history. When asked how it compared to winning a slam , he said he felt the ranking gains were an extra reward for all the accumulated work in winning big titles “When you win Roland Garros it's in the moment, no ? It's very emotional. Right now I know I going to be No. 1 and I'm very, very happy to be No. 1. Be No. 1 always is, I think, is a present for a lot of work in the past, no? So that's satisfying me a lot.”
A Nadal win on Friday night seemed almost inevitable but to his credit Lapentti confounded expectations and made it very competitive for a set forcing the new king of tennis to hit his peak. Lapentti was often pushed far back by the vicious topspin but even 6 feet behind the baseline he could still pack quite a punch and the forehand which has found its groove so impressively this week, helped earn him a tiebreak.It was in the balance till a diving volley from Nadal earned him a 4-2 lead and he ran away with it 7-3
Lapentti's level didn't really dip in the second but nevertheless that was the end of the match as a contest. Nadal is a perennial crowd-pleaser and at 4-1 he gained the double break with 2 unbelievable forehand passes which brought the superman theme to mind. Even Lapentti had to applaud
“I am happy because I have been fighting a lot these last three years,” Nadal said. It's brought him to the top of the game, and started a new era in tennis.
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