Zverev Takes Early Control In ATP Race After Germany's United Cup Win
ATP
Alexander Zverev has set the early pace in the ATP Race, which accounts for points earned during the course of the season to determine the year-end rankings.
Zverev guided Germany to a maiden United Cup title, garnering eight wins at the tournament. Four of those came in singles, where he defeated the likes of Stefanos Tsitsipas and Hubert Hurkacz (ranked in the Top 10) to accumulate the most points of any player at the tournament.
His four singles wins accounted for 335 points, and he comfortably took control of the early race. Zverev wasn't the only champion this past weekend. Grigor Dimitrov returned to the winner's circle for the first time since 2017 after capturing the Brisbane International.
Andrey Rublev was the other ATP player who stood on the champion podium Sunday after winning the Hong Kong Open. Rublev and Dimitrov received 250 points and jointly held second in the race. Alex de Minaur came in fourth place with 230 points.
The 24-year-old is ranked a career-high World No. 10 as of this week, becoming the first Australian man to occupy that position since 2006. De Minaur helped host nation Australia reach the semifinal of the United Cup following his thrilling win over Novak Djokovic.
Djokovic finished as the year-end No. 1 last season for a record-extending eighth time. He is currently in 41st position after the first week, but that is expected to change drastically in the next two to three weeks when he will launch his bid to win an 11th Australian Open.
The likes of Carlos Alcaraz, Daniil Medvedev, and Jannik Sinner have yet to strike a ball in an ATP tournament this year and don't have any points to show for it.
Some of the surprise names in the early race include Zizou Bergs, who sits in 5th place thanks to points earned from winning the Yokkaichi Challenger in early December.
Dominik Koepfer won the Canberra Challenger this past weekend and is in 10th with 141 points. The ATP Race is significant in determining the year-end No. 1 and the qualifying players for the ATP Finals in Turin and the Next Gen ATP Finals in Jeddah.
2024 ATP Race as of January 8th, 2024:
| Rank | Player | Points |
| 1 | Alexander Zverev | 335 |
| 2 | Alex de Minaur | 265 |
| 3 | Grigor Dimitrov | 250 |
| 4 | Andrey Rublev | 250 |
| 5 | Zizou Bergs | 175 |
| 6 | Holger Rune | 165 |
| 7 | Emil Ruusuvuori | 165 |
| 8 | Hubert Hurkacz | 150 |
| 9 | Dominik Koepfer | 141 |
| 10 | Casper Ruud | 130 |
| 11 | James Duckworth | 120 |
| 12 | Valentin Vacherot | 120 |
| 13 | Roberto Bautista Agut | 110 |
| 14 | Fabio Fognini | 109 |
| 15 | Alejandro Tabilo | 105 |
| 16 | Arthur Cazaux | 100 |
| 17 | Sebastian Ofner | 100 |
| 18 | Juncheng Shang | 100 |
| 19 | Roman Safiullin | 100 |
| 20 | Jordan Thompson | 100 |
| 21 | Nuno Borges | 100 |
| 22 | Facundo Diaz Acosta | 100 |
| 23 | Michael Mmoh | 98 |
| 24 | Aleksandar Kovacevic | 98 |
| 25 | Roman Andres Burruchaga | 87 |
| 26 | Brandon Nakashima | 85 |
| 27 | Pedro Martinez | 84 |
| 28 | Yosuke Watanuki | 84 |
| 29 | Patrick Kypson | 82 |
| 30 | Benoit Paire | 81 |
| 31 | Alejandro Davidovich Fokina | 80 |
| 32 | Jakub Mensik | 80 |
| 33 | Li Tu | 79 |
| 34 | Maximilian Marterer | 75 |
| 35 | Duje Ajdukovic | 75 |
| 36 | Denis Yevseyev | 70 |
| 37 | Kilian Feldbausch | 69 |
| 38 | Santiago Rodriguez Taverna | 66 |
| 39 | Alex Michelsen | 63 |
| 40 | Vadym Ursu | 61 |
| 41 | Novak Djokovic | 60 |
| 42 | Thiago Monteiro | 60 |
| 43 | Gilbert Klier Junior | 59 |
| 44 | Marc Polmans | 59 |
| 45 | Yuta Shimizu | 57 |
| 46 | Albert Ramos-Vinolas | 56 |
| 47 | Arthur Gea | 55 |
| 48 | Coleman Wong | 52 |
| 49 | Gustavo Heide | 52 |
| 50 | Sho Shimabukuro | 50 |
