Monday, March 19, 2007

Nadal graciously accepts No. 2 ranking

INDIAN WELLS, Calif. (AP) -- Rafael Nadal has no trouble accepting his No. 2 ranking behind Roger Federer.

"Right now, Roger's not my competition. Roger is the best in history, so my goal is continuing winning tournaments and continuing being (high) in the ranking," Nadal said Sunday after his victory in the Pacific Life Open.

"I think if I play like this, I can win another major."

The 20-year-old Spaniard defeated Novak Djokovic 6-3, 7-5 Sunday to end what was -- for him -- a long winless streak. The championship was his first since he successfully defended his French Open title last June.

"It was a very great week for me, a very, very important week," Nadal said. "I have (gone) eight months without any title, but I came back with a big one."