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Rafael Nadal, in clay, in Madrid. Not even that was enough to stop Novak Djokovic’s impressive pace.

With his 7-5, 6-4 victory over the Spaniard in the Madrid Masters 1000, the Serbian star got his sixth title of the year and put his season record at 32-0, with an undefeated streak of 34 matches.

The best start ever in male tennis belongs to John McEnroe, who won his first 41 matches of 1984 (before the ATP Tour era), while the Guillermo Vilas owns the longest undefeated streak, with 46 straight victories in 1977.

But more important for Nole, he will cut Rafa’s advantage in the ATP Rankings to less than 2,000 points.

This Monday, the Spaniard will have 12,470 points against 10,665 for the Serbian, a margin that could (and probably will) fade in just a few weeks.

Unless he gets injured, Djokovic seems destined to take the No.1 spot soon. When will it happen? Here are the possibilities:

* May 16: Djokovic would have to win the Rome Masters 1000 (in which he doesn’t defend any points) and Nadal not to reach the Semifinals.

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* June 6: A victory at Roland Garros would be enough for Nole, no matter his results in Rome and how Nadal does in those tournaments. Djokovic will also become No.1 if he wins at Rome and reaches the Final at the French Open.

* June 13: There won’t be a No.1 change this week, but the points from the Queen’s Club Championships will be added that date and those could be a key factor later.

* July 4: This scenario assumes that Nadal beats Djokovic at Rome and Roland Garros Finals. If Djokovic wins at Queen’s or at least reaches the same round as Nadal, he only needs to reach the final at Wimbledon to take the No.1. If Nadal wins at Queen’s, Djokoic would need to take the Wimbledon title.

In short: Nadal needs to win the next four tournaments (Rome, Roland Garros, Queen’s Club and Wimbledon) to keep the lead in the rankings.

Djokovic only needs one more victory over Nadal to take the July break at the top of male tennis.

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