ATP Rankings: Novak Djokovic moves 17 weeks from Roger Federer's record despite..

Novak Djokovic is spending the 293rd week as world no. 1, moving 17 away from Roger Federer's record of 310. Competing in Austria last week, Novak secured the year-end no. 1 honor for the sixth time, matching Pete Sampras and leaving Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Pete Sampras behind him. The Serb is 2000 points clear of his closest rival Rafael Nadal,  with a massive chance of staying at the top until March when he should move in front of Roger Federer and grab the ultimate ranking record at 33. Novak has wrapped up the year-end no. 1 battle but his Vienna campaign wasn't as good as he was hoping for, suffering a heavy 6-2, 6-1 quarter-final loss in 68 minutes to a lucky loser Lorenzo Sonego! The Italian fended off all six break chances and delivered five breaks, stealing over half of the return points and closing the encounter with 26 winners and 12 unforced errors.

Novak was far from his best form, landing only seven winners and counting to 25 errors, never looking like a serious competitor after securing the year-end no. 1 honor in the previous encounter against Borna Coric. Rafael Nadal will try to earn the first points since Acapulco in February, entering the Paris Masters as the top seed and with no Novak Djokovic and Dominic Thiem to challenge him. Rafa is 725 points ahead of the Austrian, seeking one of the biggest titles he is missing and preparing for the ATP Finals in London. Daniil Medvedev reached the quarter-final in Vienna, taking 90 points and moving in front of Stefanos Tsitsipas in positions five and six.

Novak Djokovic has secured the year-end no. 1 position for the sixth time.

Alexander Zverev, Andrey Rublev, Diego Schwartzman and Matteo Berrettini have remained in the top-10, with another perfect week for Rublev. The 23-year-old Russian has been the player to beat since the season restart, winning three ATP 500 titles and reaching two Major quarter-finals.

Andrey conquered Vienna, becoming the first player with five ATP titles in 2020 and joining Novak Djokovic on 39 ATP wins. Rublev has secured the seventh spot at the ATP Finals in London, looking to make a strong start on his debut at the premium ATP event and fight for the title. Grigor Dimitrov gained two positions to move in front of Karen Khachanov and Stan Wawrinka, with no more changes in the top-30. The Vienna finalist Lorenzo Sonego gained ten places to move closer to the place in the top-30, followed by the Nur-Sultan winner John Millman who passed seven rivals. A former Vienna champion Kevin Anderson reached the semis and grabbed 180 points, earning his best result in 2020 and moving in front of 25 opponents to return into the top-100 for the first time since the first week of January.

from Tennis World USA https://ift.tt/363pYLg