On Monday, Taylor Fritz will move up two places in the ATP Rankings, meaning he will be the new World No. 5.
This marks a personal milestone for Fritz, as it is highest-ever career ranking. But it also has its places in the American history books, as the recent Delray Beach Open champion becomes the first top five player from the United States since a certain Andy Roddick nearly fourteen years ago.
While this is initially just a live ranking, reflecting the immediate drop-off in points from other players, the exciting news for Fritz is that he is guaranteed to remain at No. 5 once the officially published rankings are released on Monday.
The American has benefited from a dip in form from Andrey Rublev, while Rafael Nadal's continued absence from tour following the hip injury he sustained in Australia at the start of the year means that Fritz had a golden opportunity to capitalise.
And capitalise he did. After a healthy run to the last four at the Dallas Open, Fritz followed that up with winning the tournament in Delray Beach to clinch his fifth ATP title and with it, a coveted place within the top five.
It is nearly a year now since the talented South Californian made his biggest breakthrough by winning the Masters 1000 title in Indian Wells. Since then, the progress has been steadily trending upwards, while an impressive collection of points over the year has seen his ranking tick upwards also.
Reaching the last eight at Wimbledon, taking the ATP 500 title in Tokyo, and then his positive start to 2023 have all combined to accumulate enough points to leapfrog some struggling near rivals.
Fritz is one of 11 Americans in the top 50, as the American tennis renaissance gathers momentum. For now, it is Taylor Fritz who is firmly leading that charge,
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