World No. 3 Roger Federer believes that No. 2 Novak Djokovic has a good chance to seize the No. 1 ranking for the first time. "I think Novak has made good progress since the U.S. Open," he said in Madrid. "He had the chance to win and lost to Nadal, but he reacted well. He has taken his chances and he was able to beat me the last three times. He has many opportunities to be No. 1. He had them before and didn’t take them. Now he has more because he is playing very well."
Federer added that the tour now being on clay could make a substantial difference. World No. 1 Nadal hasn't lost a match on clay since the 2009 French Open. "Rafa is now in his territory. It will be an interesting time and a disputed one," Federer said.—Matthew Cronin