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The No. 2 and No. 3 spots have flipped a bit the last few weeks.
But Daniil Medvedev has taken it over again after doing … not much.
And he’ll keep it through Roland Garros, as the 1,000 points Rafael Nadal still has on his docket from winning Rome in … 2019 finally come off in a week.
Even if he wins it again this year, he can only come back to neutral. And Medvedev will be ahead of him.
This matters only if Nadal ends up in Novak Djokovic’s half of the draw. And it matters only if both get to the semifinals.
So let’s not look ahead TOO far at this point.
The other notable this week is that while John Isner made a move, the sad reality of American men’s tennis is that there isn’t a single player in the ATP’s top 30. The No. 1 American is Taylor Fritz, at No. 31.
That hasn’t happened in the history of the computer rankings.
It’s emblematic of not only the fact that the men’s tour is heavily Euro-centric at the moment, it’s also global. The days of the players from countries that host Grand Slams dominating the rankings has been over for awhile.
But it’s never been so apparent as right now.
For the complete ATP Tour rankings picture, click here.
ON THE UPSWING
Daniil Medvedev (RUS): No. 3 ==============> No. 2 (The Russian will look to actually win a match in Rome this week. Hey, what the heck).
Matteo Berrettini (ITA): No. 10 ==============> No. 9 (Feels like the Italian should be rewarded more for reaching the Madrid final. But he’s in a little hole in the draw with Roger Federer more than 1,700 points ahead of him at No. 8. Yeah, it’s like that).
Casper Ruud (NOR): No. 22 ==============> No. 16 (It’s a career high for Ruud after his semifinal effort in Madrid. But he pulled out of Rome with a wrist issue that’s not a new thing).
Cristian Garin (CHI): No. 25 ==============> No. 22 (The Chilean was a little quiet at the beginning of the season. But clay is prime time for him).
John Isner (USA): No. 39 ==============> No. 34 (Given how little tennis he’s played in 2021, his effort in Rome, unseeded, to upset both Bautista Agut and Rublev in third-set tiebreaks before falling in the quarters, was nothing short of impressive. But will it be enough to get him seeded in Paris after he pulled out of Rome?)
Alexander Bublik (KAZ): No. 44 ==============> No. 40 (A good Madrid for Bublik, who faces Garin in the first round of Rome).
Alexei Popyrin (AUS): No. 76 ==============> No. 61 (A career high for the 21-year-old Aussie after going from the qualifying to the round of 16 in Madrid. He fell ot Kamil Majchrzak of Poland in the first round of Rome qualifying).
Federico Delbonis (ARG): No. 77 ==============> No. 64 (Delbonis qualified and went to the Xth round in Madrid. He qualified in Rome, too, and will face Khachanov).
Marcos Giron (USA): No. 91 ==============> No. 84
Carlos Alcaraz (ESP): No. 120 ==============> No. 114 (Alcaraz got a cake and the chance to play Nadal on Manolo Santana Stadium for his 18th birthday. He also jumped up to a new career high in the rankings).
Tallon Griekspoor (NED): No. 143==============> No. 130 (the 24-year-old is at a career high after winning the Challenger in Prague).
Guido Andreozzi (ARG): No. 221 ==============> No. 197 (Andreozzi, a 29-year-old whose career high is No. 70, won back-to-back matches for the first time all season at the Biella Challenger. In fact, he won six of them, going from the qualifying all the way to the final).
ON THE DOWNSWING
Rafael Nadal (ESP): No. 2 ==============> No. 3 (There’s not much Nadal can do to improve his lot for Paris in Rome this week. But he could win his 10th title there).
Hubert Hurkacz (POL): No. 16 ==============> No. 19
Stan Wawrinka (SUI): No. 21 ==============> No. 25 (Doesn’t look like the veteran Swiss player is coming back for clay at all).
Frances Tiafoe (USA): No. 66 ==============> No. 74 (All the grinding on the clay is going to pay off for Tiafoe eventually. But this week isn’t a good one for his ranking. And he had to retire in the third set of his qualifying match in Rome against Federico Delbonis).
Fernando Verdasco (ESP): No. 71 ==============> No. 80 (The 37-year-old took a wild card into Madrid from his longtime friend, tournament director Feliciano Lopez. But it didn’t look like his heart was really in it).
Pablo Cuevas (URU): No. 94 ==============> No. 104 (The veteran from Uruguay is out of the top 100 after losing in the first round of Madrid qualifying. He won a top-level Challenger in Aix-en-Provence the same week in 2019. But it’s not being played this year – again – so he was out of luck trying to defend it.
Canadian Rankings
Road to Turin
