RAFA Nadal and Fernando Velasco are two of the top eight tennis players in the world who will compete today in the London Masters event.

Mallorca-born Nadal hopes to win back his number one title, whilst Verdasco revealed that his childhood dream of playing in the London event has finally come true.

The matches are being held in the O2 stadium, formerly the Millennium Dome.

It is the last tournament of the season, besides the Davis Cup in Barcelona, in which Spain will pit its skills against the Czech Republic.

But Nadal (pictured), who dropped to number two in the ATP's rankings in July, does not believe he is likely to knock Swiss player Roger Federer from the top spot this time around.

He says he 'does not know how the ranking system is worked out' and to what extent he would have to win or lose to rise to number one or fall to number three.

“But my aim is always to do my best possible, and if it's meant to be, it will be,” reveals the star from Manacor.

At present, there are only 945 ATP points separating Nadal from Federer, meaning a last-minute surge could see the former regaining last year's rating.

Rafa's first match is tomorrow – Monday – against Swedish player Robin Söderling.

Although Rafa reveals that certain personal problems – such as his parents' recent divorce – have affected his game, he believes that he is experiencing the 'best end-of-season' of his career.

Velasco and Nadal are the only Spanish players, and in addition to Söderling and Federer, they will be joined by Argentinean Juan Martín del Potro; Scotsman Andy Murray; Serbian Novak Djokovic, and Russian Nikolay Davydenko.