Paul McNamee, the former tournament director of the Australian Open, was in Madrid this week and with nominations for the post of chairman/chief executive of the ATP Tour about to close, his presence in the same city where several members of the board were spending a few days was a sure signal of his desire to run the men's tour. His credentials are first class.

It is 20 years since McNamee's distinguished playing career came to an end - twice a member of a victorious Australian Davis Cup winning side, who reached No.24 in singles but was regarded more as a doubles player, a former world No.1 at that art, in which he won four grand slam doubles titles, including Wimbledon in 1980 and 1982 with Peter McNamara.

When he hung up his racquets, he chose to move into the promotions business. He remembered a conversation in his apartment over a few beers in 1984 with fellow pros Pat Cash and Charlie Fancutt when Fancutt said that there were no mixed tennis events in the world and said someone ought to organise one. McNamee said he would do it when he retired. Cash said he'd play in it.

"I had had a few job offers and investment proposals but I decided to give the mixed doubles idea a go," McNamee said, of a tournament he desired to be named after Harry Hopman, the legendary Australian coach. "The next day I hired an office on St Kilda Road and got going with Paul McNamee Enterprises." He discovered a location called Burswood Island in Western Australia which seemed ideal, spoke to people at the venue and the idea was launched, with much of his own money. "It was only when we said we were going to get Steffi Graf to play that people started to get interested," he recalled.

Graf and Cash played that first year but a continuing drawback for the event was its exhibition status. McNamee realised it could disappear without a trace at the whim of a sponsor unless it got official sanction, and began the process of incorporating it into the ITF calendar, something he achieved in 2003. "I flew to Barcelona to make a 15-minute pitch to the ITF and then flew straight home. The vote was close, but we got the result we wanted."

By this time, he had established himself as tournament director at Melbourne Park, helping transform a brilliant Australian event into the Grand Slam of Asia/Pacific. "The first step," he said, "was for Asians to dream about the Australian Open as their home Grand Slam, as Aussies did. The, it was for the development of Melbourne Park as a center of excellence for the Asia-Pacific region. We were about building bridges to the region, opening our arms up as Melbournians and Australians, a hand of welcome. Tennis is in a leadership position in this region. This country has an impeccable history in the sport and we have the opportunity to play a leadership role, engage in the region, and basically do the right thing."

The remarkable success of the Australian in the past 20 years since it moved from the tight confines of the Kooyong Club to the Melbourne Park site is a testament to McNamee's foresight and imagination. It was recognised by Golf Australia which sneaked him from under the sport's nose in 2006, when he became tournament director of the Australian Open. From there, he moved to become CEO of Melbourne Football Club (The Demons) for six months until he was ousted when new owners took over in the summer. Now, on the lookout for a new job at which he can bring his immense foresight and skills, he likes the look of the chief executive's role at the ATP. His candidacy would take some beating.

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There is immense consolation for Rafael Nadal in the aftermath of his astonishing defeat to Gilles Simon in the semi final of the Mutua Madrilena Masters on Saturday, a match that will surely go down as one of the finest of the year. The Wimbledon champion is guaranteed to end this season as the No.1 player on the ATP Tour, ending Roger Federer's four-year reign.

The 22-year-old is the first left-hander to finish No.1 since John McEnroe in 1984 and the third lefty to do so in the 36-year history of the ATP Rankings. McEnroe was No.1 from 1981-84 and Jimmy Connors finished No.1 from 1974-78. He also becomes the first Spaniard to enjoy this promimence at the end of a year. Nadal took over at the top on August 18 after ranking No.2 for 160 consecutive weeks (since July 25, 2005). Federer held the top spot for a record 237 straight weeks from Feb 2, 2004 to Aug 17, 2008.

Nadal leads the circuit with eight titles and an 80-10 match record in 2008. In July, he became the first man since Bjorn Borg in 1980 to win the French Open and Wimbledon, he followed that by clinching his 12th career Masters Series title and third of the season, at the Rogers Cup in Toronto. He is also the Olympic champion. With the Davis Cup final against Argentina in Mare Del Plata next month to come, Nadal could end 2008 with a record that may never be bettered.

But the Net Post had to chuckle when the official press statement confirming Nadal's achievement was posted. In it, he was quoted as using the word "Moreover" Well, I know his English has improved remarkably in the last few months, but 'moreover?' I would love to have heard him say it.