When will Nadal return to the top 4?
 

How long can Ferrer hold him at bay?
As Rafa has nearly all the clay points to defend the earliest possible seems WImbledon, where Nadal defends R2 and Ferrer defends a quarter, but that seems like a stretch unless Ferrer misses it or Rafa wins it.

Re: When will Nadal return to the top 4?
 

Depends on the clay season, if Rafa defends it all and is fit to play the hard court season, and does relatively well (better than Ferrer), the should clinch it sometime after USO.

Re: When will Nadal return to the top 4?
 

I voted By Wimbledon because I want it to come truth,but I'm actually not that optimistic anymore given his recent complaints about the knee and his too busy new schedule.:rolleyes:

Re: When will Nadal return to the top 4?
 

It`s tough to say,really.A lot deppends on how well he plays but also on his schedule.When he comes back,he might not play all his scheduled events.After such a big layoff,he doesn`t know how his body will feel after playing 1 or 2 competitive events,so cutting some events of his schedule is always possible.
Also,i doubt his goal is to get back into top 4 right now.For someone who hasn`t played in 6-7 months,it`s about getting into some rhythm and play as well as possible without thinking of rankings and other stuff.

Re: When will Nadal return to the top 4?
 

Hard to imagine Ferrer saves all of the accumulated points from 2012 while Nadal underperforms so significantly.
Seems like a mtter of months at best.

Re: When will Nadal return to the top 4?
 

Never I think. He will stop playing hardcourt and grass and play only clay tournaments .

Re: When will Nadal return to the top 4?
 

:facepalm: :facepalm: :facepalm:

Re: When will Nadal return to the top 4?
 

If you look here: http://www.menstennisforums.com/showthread.php?t=224329 you can see that Ferrer is about 3000 points ahead when considering only points gained from the start of RG 2012 until now, so it looks unlikely until after Wimbledon unless Ferrer hardly picks up any points in the next few months.

Re: When will Nadal return to the top 4?
 

I like Nadal, but I dont see how can his knees recover so he can play hardcourts again without pain/problems.

Unfortunately he has too much health issues to get back into best 4 players :(

To be in best 4 you must play all major tournaments - year around.

A Nadal with his health issues simply cannot do that now even Uncle Toni admitted that.

Re: When will Nadal return to the top 4?
 

this. I am sad but his recovery process doesnt go good. I wish him all the best.

Re: When will Nadal return to the top 4?
 

Uso.

Re: When will Nadal return to the top 4?
 

After AO 2014.

Re: When will Nadal return to the top 4?
 

If he doesn't defend his RG title, and it might be a tough task if he gets a sick draw (having to beat top 3 in QF, SF and F) he will stay at number 5 for a while...

Re: When will Nadal return to the top 4?
 

Probably after Acapulco. But Ferrer will probably take it back again after IW.

Re: When will Nadal return to the top 4?
 

If he doesn't defend RG, he's not likely to hang onto #5 either. It's not that far down to Berdych and Del Potro.