ATP Rankings: Novak Djokovic takes another step towards Roger Federer's record

The third and last Major of the season is underway in Paris, with 128 players battling for the title and 2000 points. Despite that many points up for grabs, there will be no changes at the top in two weeks, with Novak Djokovic controlling the pace with massive 11260 points. The Serb lost in the semi-final in Paris a year ago, seeking more points and a chance to seal the year-end no. 1 ranking if he wins the title, the second in Paris after 2016. Djokovic is spending the 288th week as world no. 1, moving 22 away from the ultimate Roger Federer's record and looking good to catch and pass the Swiss in March. Novak will open the Roland Garros campaign on Tuesday against Mikael Ymer, having an easy draw in the early rounds and hoping for a good start. The defending Roland Garros champion is on 9850 points, keeping his 2000 points from last year's Parisian campaign despite the outcome in the next couple of weeks but probably falling further behind Novak if the Serb embraces a good run and reach the final or win the title.

The other finalist from 2019, Dominic Thiem, also made a good start, seeking the second consecutive Major crown and a chance to move in front of Rafael Nadal and become world no. 2 for the first time. Roger Federer is still ranked 4th, skipping the rest of the season and preparing for a fresh start in 2021, safe inside the top-10. The US Open semi-finalist Daniil Medvedev had a short campaign on clay, losing in the first round in Hamburg and Roland Garros and preparing for the indoor swing where he should be a title contender again. Stefanos Tsitsipas, Alexander Zverev, Matteo Berrettini, Gael Monfils (terrible form) and Roberto Bautista Agut complete the top-10 list, with the Spaniard moving ahead of Denis Shapovalov who spent only one week in the elite company.

If everything goes right for him, Novak Djokovic will pass Roger Federer in March.

The Hamburg winner Andrey Rublev became world no. 12 with those 500 points, beating Stefanos Tsitsipas after turning tables in the decider to add the third ATP title to his tally of the season. Cristian Garin lost in the semis to Tsitsipas, earning enough points to pass three rivals and hit the top-20 again, followed by another semi-finalist Casper Ruud who is in the top-25 for the first time. The Norwegian has been among the players to beat on clay this year, winning 16 out of 20 matches and making a strong start at Roland Garros. There were no new players in the top-30, with Ugo Humbert cracking the top-40 for the first time. 

from Tennis World USA https://ift.tt/3jbnkIs