He has to, that is if he wants to stay at No.1 as long as possible.

Rafael Nadal, after beating Roger Federer TWICE in a Grand Slam tournament this year, has become the new world No.1, taking along with him the no.1 seed in the last Grand Slam of the tennis calendar, the 2008 United States Open Tennis Championships.

Also an Olympic gold medalist in the men’s singles in the 2008 Beijing Olympics, Rafael Nadal will now deal with the pressure of having one huge target on his head.

After all, that’s what being on top of the food chain is all about in sports.

For some reason, Rafael Nadal has never gone pass the quarterfinals in the U.S. Open. Must have something to do with the way he struggles on tournaments not played on clay surfaces.

Now that he has been able to overcome that after beating Roger Federer on grass, that being this year’s Wimbledon, Rafa is on the verge of proving to everybody that he’s no longer just the master of clay.

He likes his chances of winning another Grand Slam title at the U.S. Open and I don’t blame him.

‘’When you are playing well you feel comfortable on all courts. In the past when I was playing well, I did well on hard courts, too. I feel good for sure. I won two tournaments in Toronto and the Olympics, and I played semifinals in Cincinnati,'’ Rafael Nadal said.

Nadal, 22, has won eight titles this year including the 30th of his career at the ATP Masters Series event in Cincinnati. He will attempt to become the first man to win the French Open, Wimbledon and U.S. Open in the same year since Rod Laver in 1969.

Yes people, the young Rafa has grown up.

Can Rafael Nadal win the 2008 U.S. Open Championships? Bodog Sportsbook has the odds.

Roger Federer 3.00

Rafael Nadal 2.25

Novak Djokovic 4.50

Andy Roddick 34.00

Visit Bodog sportsbook for more tennis betting odds and the best betting lines on some of today’s biggest sporting events.

2008 U.S. Open Rafael Nadal