Rafael Nadal is revelling in having an unexpected opportunity become world number one again.
Nadal arrived at the Western & Southern Open this week third in the ATP rankings behind Daniil Medvedev and Alexander Zverev.
That is after a brilliant season so far, with the 36-year-old having won two grand slams, in Melbourne and Paris, and another two other Tour-level titles.
Nadal, who faces Borna Coric on Wednesday, will usurp Medvedev as number one should he win the title in Cincinnati this weekend and the Russian fail to reach the quarter-final stage.
Nadal said: "It means a lot to me to have that opportunity, something that I never expected could happen again. But here we are.
"The main thing is to stay healthy and finish the season playing the events that I want to play.
"I will not play more than what I believe will work well for my body to achieve this goal, but I am going to put all my efforts into every single event that I play.
"I do that all the time, it doesn't matter whether I have the chance to be number one or not. But I'm happy to be in this privileged position.
"If for some reason that happens, it will be amazing."
Nadal has won the Western&Southern Open only once back in 2013. He reached the semi-finals at Wimbledon last month, but had to withdraw from his clash with Nick Kyrgios due to injury, and subsequently did not compete in Montreal earlier this month.
"You need to know that when you come back after a while things aren't going to be better," added Nadal, who last held the number one spot in February 2020.
"You can't expect to play at an amazing level from the beginning. Knowing that, accepting that, you have to be able to be humble enough to fight with the tools that you have at the beginning to win the first match.
"In the Masters 1000s, the opponents are very demanding from the beginning."
