sport news Rafael Nadal finds himself outside the top ten in the ATP rankings for first ... trends now
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Rafael Nadal might have woken up this morning feeling ever so slightly different – for the first time in nearly 18 years he is not a member of the world’s top ten.
The 36 year-old Spaniard has slipped down to number thirteen on the ATP rankings, and not since April 24 2005 has he not held what is such a highly regarded status in tennis.
This marks the end of a quietly astonishing period of consistency in a global individual sport. It is all the more remarkable for the fact that he can hardly claim to have had the sort of injury-free record as baseball legend Cal Ripken Jr., who once played 2,632 games without interruption.
When Nadal first broke into the top ten Sir Tony Blair still had two years left as Prime Minister and Sir Alex Ferguson eight ahead of him as Manchester United manager. The England cricket team was only just embarking on the summer which would see them play perhaps the greatest Ashes series of all against Australia.
In the intervening period the Mallorcan has kept his place at the top table of tennis, with his position there underpinned by his extraordinary domination of the French Open.
Rafael Nadal is outside the top ten on the ATP Tour Rankings for the first time since 2005
On the twelve month system of roll-on, roll-off
