John McEnroe backs Rafael Nadal to end the year as No 1

John McEnroe believes that Rafael Nadal is now the favourite to end the year as the World no 1.

Despite a lack of match practice ahead of the US Open, McEnroe believes that Nadal is the favourite to win the final Grand Slam of the year and jump into top spot.

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The US Open doesn’t end the season though and McEnroe feels that Nadal will make a strong conclusion to the season.

McEnroe doesn’t feel that Nadal’s second round loss at the Cincinnati Masters is a measure of how the 22-time Grand Slam winner will perform in New York.

It now appears likely that Novak Djokovic will not play in the US Open, a situation that arguably makes Nadal a strong favourite.

McEnroe points out that Nadal always seems to find another level when it comes to the Grand Slams and big matches.

“I do think he is the favourite, absolutely,” McEnroe told Eurosport. “I would be surprised if he doesn’t [finish as world No. 1].

“Especially, as it turned out, it would have helped if there was points at Wimbledon for him. But it hurt people like Novak and other players that had done well the previous year.

“He [Nadal] is in a great position to do that, which is amazing considering that he didn’t play for six months before that. Rafa does things that you can’t believe that it happened, which is why he’s considered the best and up there with the all-time greatest players – you never know what to expect.

“He didn’t play the semis at Wimbledon [after withdrawing