ATP Rankings: Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal battle for no. 1 in Melbourne
The first Grand Slam of the season at the Australian Open is underway, with 128 players fighting for the trophy, huge prize money and 2000 ATP points. As always at such big events, we can expect some significant shifts on the ATP ranking list, starting from the very top of the ATP throne, with Rafael Nadal chasing Novak Djokovic in the race for the no. 1 spot after Melbourne. The Serb spends his 234th week as world no. 1 and he has to reach the fourth round at Melbourne Park to stay the leader of the pack regardless of Nadal's result.
The Spaniard trails 1655 points to his great rival and he must win the second Australian Open title if he wants to stand a chance of stealing the throne from Novak, something that's not likely to happen at this point considering how well Djokovic has been playing in the last six months and here in Melbourne in general. Behind those two there's another exciting ranking clash between Roger Federer and Alexander Zverev who stand just 35 points within each other in the third and fourth place on the list. The young German will become world no. 3 again if he reaches the fourth round, with Roger having massive 2000 points to defend in the following two weeks.
Juan Martin del Potro was forced to skip Melbourne due to a knee injury that bothers him since Shanghai and Kevin Anderson could pass him if the South African reaches the last eight. The last year's finalist Marin Cilic will have to work hard to stay ahead of the rivals behind him especially Kei Nishikori who made a perfect start of the year after winning Brisbane. There were no changes in the top-15 (we should expect them in two weeks, though) and the only shift in the top-20 is between Diego Schwartzman and Daniil Medvedev in the 16th and 19th spot after the Russian failed to defend Sydney title. Gilles Simon is the only new player in the top-30 while the overs of the week have been Tennys Sandgren and Cameron Norrie who battled in the final in Auckland on Saturday. Top-20 ranking list:
1. Novak Djokovic (SRB) 9135 2. Rafael Nadal (ESP) 7480 3. Roger Federer (SUI) 6420 4. Alexander Zverev (GER) 6385 5. Juan Martin del Potro (ARG) 5150 6. Kevin Anderson (RSA) 4810 7. Marin Cilic (CRO) 4160 8. Dominic Thiem (AUT) 4095 9. Kei Nishikori (JPN) 3750 10. John Isner (USA) 3155 11. Karen Khachanov (RUS) 2835 12. Borna Coric (CRO) 2435 13. Fabio Fognini (ITA) 2315 14. Kyle Edmund (GBR) 2150 15. Stefanos Tsitsipas (GRE) 2095 16. Diego Schwartzman (ARG) 1925 17. Milos Raonic (CAN) 1900 18. Marco Cecchinato (ITA) 1889 19. Daniil Medvedev (RUS) 1865 20. Nikoloz Basilashvili (GEO) 1820
from Tennis World USA http://bit.ly/2AMhHMD
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