Jannik Sinner in pole position to overtake Rafael Nadal, John McEnroe in interesting milestone race

Italy’s Jannik Sinner is set to overtake former world number ones Rafael Nadal and John McEnroe in an interesting race. The 23-year-old, who is regarded as one of the best players currently playing in men’s tennis in the singles category, is currently serving a three-month suspension after failing two dope tests in March last year.

He has only played one competition this year, which was the Australian Open, where he managed to defend his title after beating Germany’s Alexander Zverev in the final in straight sets with a score of 6-3, 7-5, 6-4. Despite that, Sinner, who is now set to return to tennis before the start of the Rome Masters next month, managed to remain on top of the ladder in the ATP rankings, largely because of inconsistent performances from his closest rivals, Zverev and Spain’s Carlos Alcaraz.

As things stand, Sinner is set to keep the top spot in men’s tennis in the singles category, which would extend his stay at the very top for 52 weeks. Soon after, there is Wimbledo,n where the Italian tennis star will be only defending 900 points, compared to Alcaraz’s 2,050 and Zverev’s 400 points. Those things are keeping Sinner in a prime position to keep the number one spot till after Wimbledon this year.

If he manages to do that, the three-time Grand Slam winner will be able to overtake the likes of Nadal and McEnroe in the race to stay number one in men’s tennis for consecutive weeks. The legendary Spaniard, who is regarded as one of the greatest players in the history of men’s tennis in the singles category in the Open era, having won as many as 22 Grand Slam titles, stayed at the top for 56 consecutive weeks. On the other hand, McEnroe is slightly ahead of Nadal as he remained world number one for 58 consecutive weeks. Former world number one Switzerland’s Roger Federer holds the record for staying world number one for the most consecutive weeks. He stayed at the top for 237 weeks consecutively in the ATP rankings.