Query Performance

Hello SQL Gurus,
From the query below, I am using 2 TOP functions to return the desired row. I am wondering if someone can shed some light on how to AVOID using 2 TOP statements and combine into just one select query?

select TOP 1 * from (select TOP 2 Num from A order by Num) X order by Num desc

Truly Appreciate your help as this performance issue has been bugging in my head for quite some time...

Sincerely,
-Lawrence

You could write it like below:

select min(num)

from A

where num > (select min(num) from A)

-- or

select max(num) from (select top 1 num from A order by num) X

But your TOP query should perform fine if you have an index on Num column. Can you compare above queries with yours and see if there is any difference? You can compare the execution plan in query analyzer.