U.S. Open champion Rafael Nadal will be taking his amazing hard court season to Asia, where he has a chance to take back the world's No.1 ranking from Novak Djokovic at the Beijing Open and Shanghai Masters.
Nadal, who remains undefeated after 22 matches on hard court, will not be playing during the next two weeks until Sept. 30 at the 2013 Beijing Open. The 27-year-old Nadal's victory at the U.S. Open helped him narrow Djokovic's lead down to 260 points, and he could overtake the Serb if he continues his winning ways in the Asian circuit of the ATP Tour.
The Spaniard doesn't need to defend any points in the next few tournaments after skipping the hard court season last year. If he reaches at least the final of the Beijing Open and Shanghai Masters, Nadal will start his new reign at No.1 atop the ATP rankings, the position he held for 102 weeks before.
After the twin tournament in Asia, Nadal is also scheduled to participate in the Swiss Indoors Championship on Oct. 21, where he could face old rival Roger Federer before the Swiss' home crowd. Nadal also booked his participation in the Paris Masters Oct. 28 before travelling to London for the ATP World Tour Finals (November 4).
Depending on his health, Nadal is also set to appear in some exhibition tournament and charity events, including a stint at the Necker Cup and in South America.
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The Spaniard is having one of the most successful comebacks in recent memory, racking up 10 tournament victories since his return from a seven-month layoff due to a bothersome knee injury. Nadal bagged his eighth French Open championship earlier this year before bludgeoning his way to his second U.S. Open title and 13th Grand Slam title of his career earlier this month at Flushing Meadows in Queens, New York.
Nadal recently powered Spain back into the Davis Cup World Group after leading them to a lopsided win in their playoff tie with Ukraine last weekend. The Mallorcan Bull dominated his singles match on clay on the first day before sealing the deal with a doubles victory with Marc Lopez on the second day of competition.
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