Roger Federer of Switzerland looks at Novak Djokovic of Serbia during a break in their men's singles finals tennis match on Centre Court at the Wimbledon Tennis Championships in London July 6, 2014.
Roger Federer of Switzerland looks at Novak Djokovic of Serbia during a break in their men's singles finals tennis match on Centre Court at the Wimbledon Tennis Championships in London July 6, 2014. REUTERS

With Rafael Nadal out for the next couple of ATP tournaments and maybe the 2014 US Open, former world number one Roger Federer is pegged to gain ground on the Spaniard in the ATP rankings and may even go past him and steal the no. 2 spot if the Swiss Master is successful in the next couple of months.

Tennis site Tennis Tonic first reported on the possibility of Federer overtaking his rival Nadal in the rankings.

“If Rafa won’t play also the US Open (we really hope not!), he will be 2600pts above Roger (8670 – 6070 -> see rankings). At this point Roger may surpass Nadal if he wins the US Open and he reaches the final in both Toronto and Cincinnati, or he wins both Toronto and Cincinnati and he reaches the final at the US Open,” stated in the article.

There is indeed a big possibility—especially because Federer has been in top-form of late—that the Swiss gets the no. 2 rankings. Here’s the latest world rankings day before the start of competition

Men’s Singles ATP Rankings – Top 10 (As of August 3, 2014)

1. Novak Djokovic (Serbia) – 13,130 points
2. Rafael Nadal (Spain) – 12,670 points
3. Roger Federer (Switzerland) – 6,070 points
4. Stanislas Wawrinka (Switzerland) – 5,770 points
5. Tomas Berdych (Czech Republic) – 4,410 points
6. David Ferrer (Spain) – 4,085 points
7. Milos Raonic (Canada) – 3,920 points
8. Juan Martin del Potro (Argentina) – 3,360 points
9. Grigor Dimitrov (Bulgaria) – 3,270 points
10. Andy Murray (Great Britain) – 3,040 points

As of August 3, Nadal is ahead by 6,600 points of Federer. This appears to be an insurmountable lead for the Spaniard but because of the unique ATP rankings rules wherein the last 52-weeks points are the ones only counted and considered.

To note, Nadal won both the Rogers Cup and Cincinnati Open titles in 2013 as well as winning the Grand Slam in New York. If the Spaniard misses the trio of American tournaments he is stand to lose 4,000 points! Federer wasn’t as successful (didn’t participate in the Toronto and made the quarterfinals in Cincinnati) but is committed to play in all US tourneys in this stretch of the ATP season.

Can Roger Federer take advantage of Rafael Nadal’s injury and get past his rival in the ATP rankings? The Swiss will look to prove he’s far from retirement when he plays in the Rogers Cup (starting Monday, August 4) and the Cincinnati Open (starting August 10, Sunday).