Explained: How Rafael Nadal can become World No. 1 by the end of Monte-Carlo Masters in April 

Rafael Nadal emerged as the winner of the Acapulco Open on Saturday after defeating Cameron Norrie in straight sets in the finals of the ATP 500 event. The Spaniard is currently enjoying a 15-match winning streak, having won three consecutive titles on the ATP tour in 2022.

Currently ranked No. 5 in the world, Rafael Nadal will climb one place in the ATP rankings on Monday, dethroning Stefanos Tsitsipas from the fourth spot after his triumph at the Acapulco Open. However, there is also a way through which the 21-time Grand Slam champion can reach the pinnacle of the rankings at the end of the Monte-Carlo Masters 2022.

Having already succeeded at the Acapulco Open, Nadal has to win the title at the Indian Wells Masters and the Monte-Carlo Masters 2022 in order to give himself a chance to climb to the top spot.

However, he will also require the new World No. 1 Daniil Medvedev and World No. 3 Alexander Zverev to secure less than 330 and 1,420 points respectively at the Indian Wells Masters, Miami Open, and the Monte-Carlo Masters combined.

Zverev's scenario looks like a possibility since the German has not performed well in this season so far. However, restricting Medvedev to 330 points in three Masters 1000 events is unlikely given his recent form.

Daniil Medvedev at the Australian Open 2022

In addition to these two scenarios, Nadal will need Novak Djokovic to remain absent until at least the Belgrade Open in April. The Serb recently announced that he would not be allowed to fly to the US for the Indian Wells and Miami Masters due to vaccine mandates.

Although Djokovic has received a green signal to play at the Italian Open, there is still no clarity over his participation at the Monte-Carlo Masters, which is scheduled to take place just one week before the Belgrade Open 2022.

Thus, if Nadal manages to win in Indian Wells and Monte-Carlo and all three scenarios take place, the Spaniard will be crowned the new World No. 1 player on April 18, 2022, well before the French Open.

Rafael Nadal can break Roger Federer and Pete Sampras' winning streak record at the Indian Wells Masters 2022

Rafael Nadal at Acapulco in 2022

Following his triumph at Acapulco, Nadal will next be seen in action at the Indian Wells Masters 2022, where he has a golden chance to edge past Federer and Sampras' season starting winning streak.

The Spaniard is currently undefeated in 2022 with 15 wins, having already registered his best start to any tennis season to date. However, he is still behind Federer and Sampras, who enjoyed a 17 consecutive wins each at the start of their seasons in 2018 and 1997 respectively.

If Rafael Nadal manages to win three matches at the Indian Wells Masters, he will overtake Federer and Sampras on the record. However, it'll be a tall order to beat Djokovic, who had a 41-match winning streak at the start of his season in 2011. The 21-time Grand Slam winner will have to remain unbeaten until the Italian Open or even till the French Open 2022 (if he decides to skip the Miami Open).

Rafael Nadal will be eyeing his fourth title at the Indian Wells Masters this year.