Rafael Nadal [Images] should be ruing his luck.

The Spanish teenager has won more matches in 2005 than any other player on the tour and collected 11 titles, including a Grand Slam crown.

Yet, thanks to Roger Federer [Images], he is still only the second best player in the world.

Though both players have each won a tour-leading 11 titles and four Master Series events, Federer enjoys a 2,035 points cushion over Nadal in the rankings.

Even if he does not lift his racket again this season, the Swiss master cannot be overtaken in 2005.

While Nadal has an impressive 79-10 win-loss ratio, Federer has set himself apart from his nearest rival with an even better 77-3 record.

Nadal, however, refuses to get downbeat.

"This year is almost impossible to repeat," Nadal said after fighting back from two sets down for the first time in his career to win the Madrid Masters.

"I'm going to start next year in high spirits but without pressure because this has been an incredible year, a year to remember, to keep at home like a picture you hang on the wall."

Nadal will certainly not forget the year in a hurry.

The powerfully-built Spaniard has combined his athleticism with aggression and steely determination to mop up eight clay and three hardcourt titles.

The most significant of those successes was at the French Open, when the 19-year-old opened his Grand Slam account by becoming the first man since 1982 to win the Roland Garros crown on debut.

INCREDIBLE YEAR

Not to be outdone, Federer made up for failures in Melbourne and Paris by obliterating his challengers at Wimbledon and U.S. Open.

The duo are 1-1 in their head-to-head meetings since January but, significantly, Federer has triumphed on three different surfaces and he has not been beaten since his semi-final loss to Nadal at the French Open.

While injury has sidelined both players from this week's event in Federer's hometown of Basel, Nadal has no illusions of what he needs to do to supplant the Swiss from the top.

"I'm aware that I need to improve my serve to get higher in the rankings," he said.

"I'm improving match by match (and) this has been an incredible year. I didn't expect it to be this way when I started the year.

"Next year, I'll try my best."

Nadal does not need to flip far back into the record books to find inspiration.

Ten years ago, Thomas Muster had to make do with finishing third in the standings behind Pete Sampras and Andre Agassi [Images] despite capturing 12 trophies.

After just six weeks into 1996 the Austrian had climbed to the top of the tennis mountain.

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