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Two weeks of tournaments, including the Masters 1000 in Madrid but oh, so many Challenger tournaments, means there have been some moves.
Notable for Canadian purposes is the return of Félix Auger-Aliassime into the top 20 after a fortnight that can only be qualified as fortuitous.
Two retirements, and a walkover given by No. 1 seed Jannik Sinner put the 23-year-old into the Madrid final – and back in the game.
Andrey Rublev (RUS): No. 8 ==========> No. 6 Rublev went through a rough period after his default in the Dubai; he posted just one win through Indian Wells, Miami, Monte Carlo and Barcelona. But he came roaring back in Madrid and despite a pretty tough week on the health front by the sound of it, won his second Masters 1000, after Monte Carlo in 2023).
Felix Auger-Aliassime (CAN): No. 35 ==========> No. 20 Maybe all the Canadian needed was a break to kickstart a return to the top of the men’s game. He sure got it in Madrid – going all the way to the final. And he had his chances in the last match, too, only to be edged out by Rublev).
Jiri Lehecka (CZE): No. 31 ==========> No. 23 (Tough, tough blow for the 22-year-old, who was in the biggest match of his career in the semis of Madrid – but had to retire when the back issue that had plagued him the last few months cropped up again in the first set of his match against Auger-Aliassime. Still, he gets back to his career high set just before the Australian Open this year. Let’s hope the back unlocks on him quickly).
Mariano Navone (ARG): No. 41 ==========> No. 31 (Another great week for Navone, who lost to Holger Rune in the second round in Madrid but went to a Challenger in Cagliari and wins it to reach another new career high. He’s in very good shape to get a deserved seed in Paris).
Alejandro Tabilo (CHI): No. 38 ==========> No. 32 (The Cana-Chilean went from an early loss in Madrid to the title n Aix-en-Provence and to another career high, and likely a seed in Paris).
Flavio Cobolli (ITA): No. 64 ==========> No. 57 (A year ago, Cobolli – then just 21 – was having his career moment qualifying at home, in Rome as a wild card ranked No. 183. A year later he makes the third round in Madrid and enters the top 60 for the first time. On his 22nd birthday, no less).
Jakub Mensik (CZE): No. 74 ==========> No. 65 (A tough one for the 18-year-old, who had to retire in the third round against Auger-Aliassime. But how far has he come? He was at No. 167 to start the season and this week he’s at another career high; a year ago, he stood at No. 333).
Denis Shapovalov (CAN): No. 132 ==========> No. 126 (Only six spots in the rankings. But an encouraging Madrid for Shapovalov, who reached the third round).
Lloyd Harris (RSA): No. 149 ==========> No. 128 (The former No. 31 is slowly making his way back from injury. And he wins a Challenger in Shenzhen on the heels of another in Gwanju to cut nearly 60 spots off his ranking).
Alexis Galarneau (CAN): No. 161 ==========> No. 155 (Galarneau climbs to another career high without even doing anything the last two weeks. He has now hit Europe and is the No. 2 seed at a Challenger in Italy this week).
Alejandro Moro Canas (ESP): No. 218 ==========> No. 172 (A great month for the 23-year-old, who wins the Challenger in Rome and leaps to another career high. A few weeks ago, he was at No. 240.
Rafael Nadal (ESP): No. 512 ==========> No. 305 (Encouraging for Nadal in Madrid, despite the fourth-round loss to Lehecka and the rather poignant goodbye offered by the tournament after that loss. He says he’s good to go for Rome).
Frances Tiafoe (USA): No. 21 ==========> No. 25 (It’s been a bit of a slow slide for Tiafoe, who let go coach Wayne Ferreira – who was there for his best moments – replaced him with Diego Moyano, and fired Moyano. He has Jordi Arconada, a pro from the US who is just a couple of years older but who hasn’t played on Tour since 2021, listed as his coach. Tiafoe lost his opener in Madrid, and his opener at the Cagliari Challenger the second week. Let’s see what the next few weeks hold for him).
Jan-Lennard Struff (GER): No. 24 ==========> No. 41 (Struff buffered the Madrid finals points he was defending with a title in Munich the previous week. So his fourth-round loss to Carlos Alcaraz – a great battle – didn’t hurt quite so much even though he falls out of the top 40).
Borna Coric (CRO): No. 34 ==========> No. 55 (Coric ran into Alexander Zverev in the second round of Madrid. One win and done after making the semifinals a year ago. And so, he drops out of the top 50, with quarterfinal points to defend in Italy. At that point, a year ago, he was No. 16 in the world, but didn’t play after the US Open).
Andy Murray (GBR): No. 57 ==========> No. 77 (Murray’s ankle injury, suffered in Miami, has kept him out ever since and there’s no real word on when he’ll return. He drops points from a run to the title in Aix-en-Provence a year ago).
Aslan Karatsev (RUS): No. 48 ==========> No. 86 (The good news is that Karatsev returned in Madrid, even though he lost to Maroszan in the first round. He had been out since a terrible knee injury in Brisbane, the first week of the season, led to surgery. He had points to defend from a year ago in Madrid from an impressive run from qualfying. He beat Struff, De Minaur and Medvedev along the way before running into lucky loser Struff in the semifinals).
David Goffin (BEL): No. 101 ==========> No. 114 (Goffin, once top 10, is now in qualifying at many events – even at Grand Slams. And in Madrid, he lost to Facundo Bagnis in the first round).
Dominic Thiem (AUT): No. 110 ==========> No. 117 (Thiem is in a very similar spot to Goffin. And after losing to Kokkinakis in the final round of Madrid qualifying, he didn’t play an event the second week. It’s looking pretty dire for him at the moment).
Filip Krajinovic (SRB): No. 493 ==========> No. 696 (Krajinovic has been out for a month and has played just six Challengers this year, with just three main-draw wins. He drops 40 points – half of what he had left – from a semifinal at the Prague Challenger last year to go way down the charts. At the time, he was ranked No. 74. His peak ranking was No. 26 almost exactly six years ago).
New No. 1s this week as Marcel Granollers and Horacio Zeballos take over the top spots at ages 38 and 39, respectively.
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Thanks for this I always like your ranking reports! Happy for Felix too even if there was a little luck involved. I was wondering if you have heard anything about Milos returning for grass? He’d need to play qualifying or get WCs since his PR usage is over, correct?
I don’t think that’s correct.