When they made the ATP race a ridiculous mathematical equation putting more weight on "defending" points than on doing well, they robbed the #1 ranking of all meaning.
It's nice for Fed that he's been ranked #1 seemingly forever. Nice for Nadal as well that he's been ranked #2. But you don't need points tallied up and defended to know that. Federer has won, what, 9 of the last 12 or so slams? Of course he's the best player in the world. Nadal has won the rest of them? Of course he's second best.
Everything else is utterly meaningless, and no resultant outcome of this tournament will change that, irrespective of what the ATP's bogus formula spouts out. If ANYONE -- Nadal, Djokovic...hell, if Fabrice Effing Santoro -- other than Federer wins two out of the next three slams, it'll be obvious that that player is and deserves to be the new #1 in the world.
Otherwise, it's still Fed, no matter what the "points" (LOL) say.
History is always written the same way in tennis. The slams count. Nothing else -- not points, not "Masters Series" titles, not trying your hardest, not anything -- matters in the slightest when it comes to evaluating professional tennis players.
Right now, Federer owns tennis. Nadal makes his mark. A few other guys (Hewitt, Safin, Roddick, etc.) have minor historical significance. Everyone else might as well be working from a cubicle -- they're only out there earning a living; not a one of them matters to the game.