After a tough week where the ‘big four’ has been pushed to their limits, it is the lower ranked players on the men’s tour that have made a significant impact in the Emirates rankings.
The top 20 remains almost identical to the previous week. Andy Murray managed to underlined his world No.1 position by winning the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships on Saturday. He now has a 2215-point lead over second place Novak Djokovic, who bowed out in the semifinals in Acapulco last week. Marin Cilic was the only mover in the top ten after leapfrogging Jo-Wilfried Tsonga into seventh place. Other minor risers include Gael Monfils (12th to 11th) and Nick Kyrgios (17th to 16th).
ATP Emirates rankings (week commencing 6/3/2017)
1. Andy Murray
2. Novak Djokovic
3. Stan Wawrinka
4. Milos Raonic
5. Kei Nishikori
6. Rafael Nadal
7. Marin Cilic (+1)
8. Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (-1)
9. Dominic Thiem
10. Roger Federer
11. Gael Monfils (+1)
12. David Goffin (-1)
13. Grigor Dimitrov
14. Tomas Berdych
15. Lucas Pouille
16. Nick Kyrgios (+1)
17. Roberto Bautista Agut (-1)
18. Jack Sock
19. Richard Gasquet
20. Alexander Zverev
It is beyond the top-20 where the significant moves have taken place this week. Sam Querrey’s shock run to the Mexico Open title, where he defeated Rafael Nadal in the final, has elevated the American 14 places up the rankings to 26th in the world. Querrey, who has a ranking best of 17th in the world, is now at his highest position since August 2013.
Dutch player Robin Haase has climbed 19 places to re-enter the world’s top-50 for the first time since 2014 at 47th. At the Dubai Tennis Championships, the 29-year-old enjoyed wins over Tomas Berdych and Damir Dzumhur (who is at a personal best 67th position) to reach the semifinals before crashing out to Fernando Verdasco.
Another star of Dubai, Evgeny Donskoy, secured his place back into the top-100 with a shock three sets win over Australian Open champion Roger Federer. Donskoy, who has a best of 65th in the world, currently lies 99th in the rankings.
21-year-old Japanese star Yoshioto Nishioka’s run to the semifinals in Mexico as a qualifier has moved him 16 places up to 70th.
The focus of the men’s tour switches to America with back-to-back Masters 1000 tournaments occurring. The first will be the BNP Paribas Masters in Indian Wells. Djokovic will be the defending champion in the event as Murray targets redemption following his shock third round loss in the tournament last year. Meanwhile, Federer was absent from the 2016 draw and could pick up some valuable points in California if he goes deep in the tournament.
