McEnroe backs Nadal to end season as world number one 

American tennis legend John McEnroe thinks Rafael Nadal will finish the season as the top-ranked player in the world. Nadal, 36, is currently the third-ranked player in the world and he has a great chance at returning to the top spot.

Nadal, who played just one tournament during the second part of the 2021 season, doesn't have a single point to defend in the rest of the season. Daniil Medvedev is the first-ranked player with 6,885 points, but he is set to defend 2,000 points at the US Open.

Alexander Zverev, who has just over 100 points more than Nadal, is set to lose a good number of points because he won't be able to defend the semifinal from last year.

McEnroe on Nadal's chances of returning to the top spot

"Yes, I think it will finish as number one, I would be very surprised if it does not happen.

It's amazing for him that he can do it considering the long time he was out in 2021 with the foot injury." McEnroe told Marca. "Rafa (Rafael Nadal) always does things that you don't think will happen and that's why he is considered the best or one of the best in history.

He didn't play in the Wimbledon semi-final because of the abdominal tear, but I didn't see him as bad in the match with Coric in Cincinnati. With all due respect to that tournament, what Nadal is worried about is the US Open."

Nadal was out for a month and a half before returning to action last week in Cincinnati. In his first match back, Nadal suffered a surprise defeat to Borna Coric. But Nadal has had lots of time to improve on the practice court and he is certainly giving his absolute best to enter the US Open as prepared as possible.

Nadal will be looking to win a record 23rd Grand Slam at the US Open. With Novak Djokovic likely missing out on the US Open because of his vaccination status, Nadal's chances of winning the US Open increase.