Tennis superstar Djokovic was once again inactive last week as he is taking an extended break following the Australian Open, but his position at the top was solidified following Carlos Alcaraz’s surprise defeat at the Argentina Open.
Alcaraz was expected to narrow the gap to the 24-time Grand Slam champion, but instead, the points difference grew to 750 after the Spaniard was upset by Nicolas Jarry in the semi-final of the ATP 250 event.
World No 2 Alcaraz will have another chance to get closer to Djokovic as he will be competing at the Rio Open, but he has 300 points to defend after finishing as the runner-up in 2023. If he wins the title, Alcaraz will reduce the deficit to 550, but Djokovic seems likely to start the Sunshine Double at the top.
The significant change occurred at No 3 as Jannik Sinner rose to a career-high No 3, becoming the highest-ranked Italian male player in ATP Rankings history.
Sinner followed up his first-ever Grand Slam title run at the Australian Open by winning the Rotterdam Open, remaining unbeaten in 12 matches in 2024. In fact, he has won 32 of his last 34 matches, with Ben Shelton (Shanghai) and Djokovic (ATP Finals) being the only players to defeat him late last year.
Sinner has a small lead over Medvedev, just five points ahead of the Russian. Medvedev will once again be absent from the ATP Tours this week as he has chosen not to defend his Qatar Open title. This essentially means that Sinner’s lead over Medvedev will be even greater next Monday.
Another major change sees Rotterdam finalist Alex de Minaur reaching a career-best No 9, becoming the first Australian since Lleyton Hewitt in 2006 to be in the top 10. De Minaur’s rise in the rankings resulted in Stefanos Tsitsipas dropping out of the top 10 for the first time since February 2019.
The rest of the top 20 remains largely unchanged, with Nicolas Jarry moving up two places to No 19, while British No 1 Cameron Norrie drops three places to No 23 due to his poor form.
Further down the list, Alexander Shevchenko reached a career-high No 48 after advancing to the quarterfinals in Rotterdam, climbing 12 places.
However, the biggest winner was Facundo Diaz Acosta, as his victory at the Argentina Open propelled him 28 places up to No 59. The Argentine received a wildcard entry into the tournament and ended up defeating Jarry in the final to claim his first ATP trophy.
1. Novak Djokovic (Serbia) – 9,855 points
2. Carlos Alcaraz (Spain) – 9,105
3. Jannik Sinner (Italy) – 8,270
4. Daniil Medvedev – 8,265
5. Andrey Rublev – 5,105
6. Alexander Zverev (Germany) – 5,030
7. Holger Rune (Denmark) – 3,700
8. Hubert Hurkacz (Poland) – 3,600
9. Alex De Minaur (Australia) – 3,210
10. Taylor Fritz (United States) – 3,065
11. Stefanos Tsitsipas (Greece) – 2,990
12. Casper Ruud (Norway) – 2,965
13. Grigor Dimitrov (Bulgaria) – 2,925
14. Tommy Paul (United States) – 2,375
15. Frances Tiafoe (United States) – 2,155
16. Ben Shelton (United States) – 2,055
17. Karen Khachanov – 2,010
18. Ugo Humbert (France) – 1,990
19. Nicolas Jarry (Chile) – 1,965
20. Adrian Mannarino (France) – 1,950
According to the Source tennis365.com