May 17, 2008
Life as the World No.2, by Michael Stich and Goran Ivanisevic
Rafael Nadal is into his 147th week as the World No.2, but he could lose that position to current No.3 Novak Djokovic when the pair clash in the Hamburg semifinals on Saturday.
Both players hope that they can one day overtake the current No.1 Roger Federer, who has reigned at the top of the rankings for more than four years.
But, there are no guarantees.
Michael Stich and Goran Ivanisevic both reached No.2, stalking the great Pete Sampras in the 1990's, but neither managed to topple the American.
Stich remains philosophical about it.
"It would have been nice to be No.1, but I wasn't quite good enough," said Stich, in between his BlackRock Tour of Champions matches in Hamburg.
"I was a little unfortunate that I was No.2 when Sampras was way ahead and having his best years. Nadal has the same problem with Roger, but he's still young and he still has chances. But yes, when you have the goal to be No.1 and you don't reach it, it is a little bit frustrating. It would have been nice if Pete could have dropped out for maybe three months so that I could have felt what No.1 was like, but at the same time, I feel that I was lucky to be playing at a time when the most successful player in history was also playing."
Typically, Ivanisevic is a little more blunt in his appraisal of life as the World No.2.
"It's sh*tty," said Ivanisevic.
"Nobody remembers you. They only remember the No.1. If you were No.2 three years ago, five years ago, ten years ago, people don't have a clue. If you ask anyone if they remember who was the runner-up at Wimbledon, they don't have a clue either. They just remember the winners. I tell you, I was twice No.2 in the world, three times a Wimbledon finalist, and it's pretty frustrating. No.2 or No.52, it's the same thing."
The good news for both Nadal and Djokovic is that Ivanisevic is convinced that they will both taste the top spot before they retire.
"Both of them will be No.1 at some point in their careers," said Ivanisevic.
"Rafa has been getting closer and closer to winning Wimbledon, and Djokovic is coming up fast. It's nice when you have three guys trying for the No.1 ranking, it's good for tennis."
Stich agrees that they both have a chance, but believes Djokovic is likely to get to No.1 the quicker of the two.
"Djokovic is the more complete player, and he's capable of playing on all the surfaces better than Nadal," said Stich.
"But, let's not forget that Roger is still there and if he wins Wimbledon, the US Open and maybe the French, these guys are going to have to continue being No.2 and No.3 for a while!"
SAMPRAS DEBUT DELAYED AS SAO PAULO CHANGES DATE
Pete Sampras will make his debut on the BlackRock Tour of Champions one month later than scheduled after the date of the Tour stop in Sao Paulo, Brazil was changed to 19-22 June, 2008.
The Tour opened in February with Anders Jarryd successfully defending his Belfast title. In Barcelona last month, Marcelo Rios triumphed, while Muster won in Rome last week.