Michael Bloomberg, the billionaire who is the Boris Johnson of this teeming city, proposed that wind turbines could be attached to prominent points on the New York skyline to generate more of the power needed to supplement its astronomical electricity bill. “If you could get 2 or 3 per cent from wind, and from solar - and the potential's greater than that - you really could make a difference,” he said.

Instead of hawking around an idea that has gone down like a punctured tyre - one critic suggested that the mayor should concentrate more on ridding Penn Station of its rat population - all Bloomberg needed to do was to tap into Don King for a few minutes here on Thursday night and he would have had all the energy he needs. Yes, that Don King, the boxing promoter whose hair appears to have its own power pack and who was seen raising Rafael Nadal's right arm and Roger Federer's left and burbling on about “The Grapple in the Apple”. After the Wimbledon final seven weeks ago that changed the face of the sport and many people's perception of it, it was still felt necessary to indulge in such frolics.

Nadal and Federer - it is odd writing their names that way around, but that is where we are as of this week in this tumultuous tennis year - played their parts sheepishly, but had to go along with King's antics because the idea to bring the cone-haired one into the act was the brainchild of Nike, the company that clothes them both to some phenomenal outlay.

That tennis's skyline has changed is without doubt. Nadal, who graciously played the part of the best No2 the men's game has seen, is now the holder of the spot occupied for 237 consecutive weeks by the Swiss, who turned 27 this month. It has taken every bit of the Spaniard's brilliance - he has lost in only two of his past ten tournaments, including his French Open, Wimbledon and Olympic Games victories - to edge past Federer at the top of the rankings and it is little wonder that, as you greet him for first time in a month, the first thing he says is that he feels “a little tired”.

The US Open, for which he is the No1 seed, is the last and most attritional grand-slam tournament of the year, and if he thinks he is a bit weary now, Nadal's head will be pounding by its end because New York never seems to lack for wind, or at least noise, in these two weeks. It got to the stage yesterday where one of the staff at the Open, who could just pass for a Nadal look-alike, was besieged by screaming Latinos while the real one sneaked behind him and on to the practice courts.

“Everything is a different feeling for me,” Nadal said, towelling down after the session. “The gold medal was so exciting because for a sportsman this is what they want. For a tennis player the grand slams are a little more important. I don't know what different feelings I can express. The thing is to win in Beijing - I feel like I win for all the country. That's more special. I win for a lot of people, not only for me.

“I always try to improve my tennis, try to be a better player than before, every month, every year. Finally, this year I have improved. I have taken great confidence from winning Wimbledon, my very special tournament. I have confidence on hard courts too, [where he won the Masters Series event in Toronto two weeks after his All England triumph]. On clay, I had the same results the last years. I am having an unbelievable season, no doubt. And I know how difficult it is to win these things.

“For sure I am very happy to be the No1. But the feeling doesn't change too much because I was very happy being the No2 as well. Finally I'm No1. It is satisfying, but I don't have time to celebrate too much. I play New York these next two weeks. Probably after New York, after Davis Cup [Spain have a World Group semi-final against the United States in Madrid] I'm going to have a good time.”

In the Olympic village, Nadal was fêted, something he could not quite come to grips with. Everyone in the United States wanted to hear what Michael Phelps, who won an historic eight swimming golds, wanted to say. In Beijing, Phelps wanted to hear what Nadal had to say. “He is probably my favourite tennis player to watch and I actually walked up to him and I was like, ‘I just want to meet you. I don't want to take a picture or anything, I just want to meet you,'” Phelps said. “I told him, ‘I watch you all the time when you play tennis and I love watching you play tennis.' I told him good luck, he is probably the only person I wanted to meet.”

And there you have it. Nadal is not only the newest member of the All England Club, the latest addition to the ATP Player Council - which went into session yesterday to start work on the process of selecting a new chief executive to replace the outgoing Etienne de Villiers - but he is the person the whole world wants to meet and greet. That takes a real toll.

“What is important is that I keep up my good work, to keep the good people around you that give you that good work,” he said. “So for that reason I think I am here right now. The percentage of how it is going to be different from No2 to No1 is impossible to calculate. I say, for me, things haven't changed too much between four weeks ago, two weeks ago and right now.”

But they have, Rafa. They have.

How Rafael Nadal muscled his way past Roger Federer to become No 1

Nadal: 2008 record

Singles 70-8 (won-lost)

Singles titles 8

Doubles 8-7

Doubles titles 1

Prize-money $6,013,074 (about £3.2<NO1>3<NO>4<TH>million)

Highlights: Singles: Winner: Beijing, Artois Championships, Monte Carlo Masters, Hamburg Masters; Canada Masters, Barcelona Open, French Open, Wimbledon

Finalist: Chennai Open, Miami Masters

Doubles: Winner: ATP Masters Series<NO>Monte Carlo Masters, with Tommy Robredo

Federer 2008 record

Singles 47-12

Singles titles 2

Doubles record 6-1

Doubles titles 1

Prize-money $3,061,341

Highlights: Singles: Winner: Estoril Open, Halle Open

Finalist: French Open, Wimbledon, Monte Carlo Masters, Hamburg Masters

Doubles: Olympics Games, with Stanislas Wawrinka