Roger Federer will not immediately catch Nadal for top spot on tour even if the Swiss Maestro defends his Australian Open title.
Rafael Nadal, the world number 1 and holder of 3 active Grand Slam titles, will remain the world number 1 regardless of the results that are turned in at Melbourne Park later this month.
Roger Federer, the defending champion at this year's Australian Open and the world number 2, cannot directly catch Rafael Nadal for top spot on tour with the Melbourne Park results. Nadal, heading into the Aussie, leads Federer by over 3000 ranking points and that is a lead that will have to be chipped at in the longer term if the Swiss Maestro is to catch the top ranked Spaniard.
Even if Federer won the 2011 Australian Open his current ranking points total of 9,245 would not go up. The 2000 ranking points he would earn for the result would simply replace the 2000 rankings that drop off as the points associated with last year's title expire.
If anyone has room for growth in terms of ranking points, it is Nadal as he lost in the quarterfinals last season.
Nadal's ranking is safe at this point and unless someone can put a dent in his lead during the clay court season it should be safe until the summer.
