Rafa Keeps Cushion Against Novak In Battle For No. 1

The battle for year-end No. 1 in the ATP Rankings is officially on. Rafael Nadal, in his first tour-level match since 21 September, held off France’s Adrian Mannarino 7-5, 6-4 on Wednesday night at the Rolex Paris Masters to maintain his 1,280-point lead over Novak Djokovic in the ATP Race To London.

Djokovic beat Frenchman Corentin Moutet earlier Wednesday and is looking to pass Nadal in the Race and finish as the year-end No. 1 for the sixth time. But Nadal controls his destiny. If the Spaniard wins his first Rolex Paris Masters crown, he will end the year No. 1 for the fifth time.

Mannarino hung tough during the 59-minute opener, erasing Nadal’s first three set points as the Paris fans tried to will their man to the upset. Nadal is playing in Bercy for the first time since 2017 and only the seventh time overall, and he owns only one indoor hard-court title (2005 Madrid).

But, despite Mannarino mixing up his first-serve location well, Nadal took the opener when the Frenchman netted a backhand. The Spaniard broke once more, just in time, in the 10th game of the second set when Mannarino made back-to-back unforced errors.

Nadal will next meet Swiss Stan Wawrinka, who edged Croatian Marin Cilic 7-6(3), 7-6(5) in just under two hours. It will be their 22^nd FedEx ATP Head2Head meeting (Nadal leads 18-3), and their first on indoor hard courts since the 2015 Nitto ATP Finals (Nadal won 6-3, 6-2).