LONDON: World number one Rafael Nadal, who has retained his top ranking by beating Australia's Alex de Minaur in the third round of the ongoing Wimbledon championship, said that he prefers to be number one rather than number two.
However, Nadal noted that rankings were not his priority.
"Of course, I prefer to be No. 1 than No. 2, [there is] no doubt about this. But I really didn't come here to hold No. 1. I just came here to try to do the best tournament possible," he said.
The 32-year-old, who recently clinched his eleventh Roland Garros title in Paris, will next face Czech player Jiri Vesely to book his berth in the quarter-final of the Championship.
Reflecting on his third round victory against Minaur, Nadal said he is happy with the way he has played so far in the tournament.
"Of course, it's very positive to be in the second week, winning three matches. That's it. [I'm] just happy the way that I played during the first week," he said.
Meanwhile, world number twenty one Novak Djokovic also won his fourth-round clash by defeating world number seventeen Kyle Edmund 4-6, 6-3, 6-2, 6-4.