By DPA
Indian Wells (California) : World number two Rafael Nadal said that his present focus is to defend his Indian Wells title and not to topple Roger Federer in the Association of Tennis Professional (ATP) rankings.
“I may be close in the rankings (trailing Roger Federer by 350 points) but really but my goal at present is to defend this title and a quarterfinal later in Miami,” said Nadal.
“It’s all getting very difficult now,” said the Spaniard, who, like Federer, is still to win his first title this season.
“Maybe this is not the moment to think of the number one ranking.”
Nadal’s last match was a straight-sets loss to eventual champion Andy Roddick in the Dubai quarterfinals a week ago, while world No. 1 Federer bowed out in the first round against Andy Murray.
Nadal knows he has a huge task waiting this month on the North American hard courts before segueing into his beloved spring clay season in Europe.
“I had an unbelievable season in 2007,” said the winner of six titles last season, adding: “But it’s a new season now. I will focus on the (annual) points race, not the ranking.”