Tennis: Novak Djokovic closes in on No 1 spot

The Serbian has won all 32 of his matches this year and beat the 'King of Clay' Rafael Nadal in straight sets on the Spaniard's favourite surface in the Madrid Open final Sunday.

If Djokovic wins his seventh consecutive title of 2011 at the Foro Italico and Nadal fails to reach the semi-finals, Djokovic will become the first player other than Nadal or Roger Federer to hold the No 1 ranking since February 2004.

Djokovic had already moved ahead of Federer for the No 2 spot in March. "If I keep winning I'll get closer but I'm trying not to think about that," Djokovic said.

"It was a perfect start with the two tournaments that I won and I need to stay dedicated and focused on the upcoming events."

Djokovic began the month by winning in Belgrade and his unbeaten run to begin the year now trails only John McEnroe's 42-0 start in 1984. "It's unbelievable what he's been able to accomplish so far this year," said Andy Roddick, the American who held the top spot briefly in 2003 and 2004.

"You can insert any number of positive adjectives and superlatives and they'll probably all be true at this point.

"He's playing very, very confident tennis and in his head he's in a perfect place right now, so it's going to be interesting to see how the rest of the year plays out."

If Nadal holds on this week, Djokovic could still take the top ranking at the French Open, which starts in less than two weeks. Nadal is the defending champion at Roland Garros, while Djokovic has only to defend a quarter-final result.

"If I want to reach No 1, I will have to play consistently well because that's what Rafa and the other players will do," Djokovic said. "Probably because of my winning streak and being in the shape of a lifetime - I'm playing the best tennis of my career - I'm probably one of the favourites (at Roland Garros)."

Djokovic also beat Nadal in the final in Key Biscayne and Indian Wells this year, but Sunday's victory was his first in ten attempts over the Spaniard on clay.

Nadal, who admitted he was beaten by a better player on the day in Madrid, said: "Nobody likes to lose. I have to see what's missing and working with a cool, open mind to decipher things and find the solutions. To try to do a little better next time."

Nadal has won the Italian Open five of the past six years, while Djokovic took the title in 2008. Djokovic will open against a qualifier, either Pablo Cuevas of Uruguay or Lukasz Kubot of Poland, while Nadal could face Madrid semi-finalist Thomaz Bellucci in his first match.

What also emerged yesterday is that no American man or woman was in the top ten for the first time in the 38-year history of the rankings. Mardy Fish and Andy Roddick are Nos 11 and 12, while Serena and Venus Williams are Nos 17 and 19, respectively.