Carlos Alcaraz maintained his 430-point lead over Novak Djokovic and will remain in top spot at the start of the ATP Masters 1000 doubleheader in Toronto and Cincinnati.
Alcaraz and Djokovic have not returned to Tour-level competition since their epic five-set battle at this year's Wimbledon final which was won by the Spaniard in a winner-take-all bout that had significant implications on the number one ranking.
But given that Alcaraz defended finalist points in two clay court tournaments after Wimbledon (Hamburg and Umag), he forgeited about 450 points from his initial 880 points lead for skipping both events. The Spaniard, therefore, remains number one on 9,225 points ahead of second-placed Djokovic on 8,795 points.
Djokovic withdrew from the Canadian Open due to fatigue, so Alcaraz will have the chance to increase that lead before Cincinnati, where the Serbian star is expected to return to competition. The no. 1 ranking could still change hands before the US Open, but should Alcaraz win in Toronto, then Djokovic is unlikely to bridge that gap.
Elsewhere, there is movement in the world's Top 10 this week as newly-crowned Los Cabos champion Stefanos Tsitsipas moves up a spot into fourth place. Tsitsipas leapfrogs Norways's Casper Ruud after beating de Minaur in the final in Mexico to win his first title of the season. The Greek sits on 5,090 points.
British one-hander Daniel Evans made substantial progress in Washington where he defeated Top-10 player Frances Tiafoe en route to winning the biggest ATP title of his career. Evans vaults to a new career-high ranking of number 21. And Tallon Griekspoor - the man he defeated in the final - also rises to a new career mark of number 26.
Argentina's Sebastian Baez re-enters the world's Top 50 this week at number 42. After a dismal run of one win in seven matches, Baez came full circle in Austria, beating countryman Tomas Martin Etcheverry and home crowd favorite Dominic Thiem for the title - his second of 2023.
Australia's Nick Kyrgios makes the biggest fall in rankings after pulling out from his Washington title defense due to injury. Kyrgios drops down to 92nd and is expected to exit the Top 100 in the coming weeks.
0 Comments