10-time French Open champion Rafael Nadal has overtaken Roger Federer to spend a fifth stint as world No.1 on the ATP rankings.
The Spaniard has returned to the position following his Swiss rivals shock second round exit at the Miami Open. Federer, who won the Miami title in 2017, was defending 1000 points and was required to reach the quarter-finals to maintain his top position. This week is Nadal’s 168th as world No.1, which is the seventh longest of all time. Should he spend a further three weeks at the top, he will overtake John McEnroe.
Heading into his beloved clay season, Nadal is set to return to action in the Davis Cup later this week. Spain will take on Germany on the clay in Valencia. He has played 32 matches in the team competition since 2004, winning 27 of those. His last appearance was back in 2016 when he played a doubles match against India. Nadal arrived in Valencia on Sunday to start training with his team.
🔔ÚLTIMA HORA: @RafaelNadal ya está en Valencia para incorporarse a la selección española #MAPFREtenis🇪🇸 que jugará la #CopaDavis🎾 ante Alemania🇩🇪Rafa#YoTambiénJuego #VamosEspaña
🎟️INFO & ENTRADAS: https://t.co/tMfzPXDROM … pic.twitter.com/EYoJZNzFK9
— Tenis España (@spaintenis) 1 April 2018
It is unclear as to what matches Nadal will play in the upcoming tie. The match nominations will take place later this week.
“Here I am, I come to do the best I can,” Super Deporte quoted Nadal as saying upon arrival at the airport on Sunday.
The other movers
Elsewhere in this week’s rankings, Alexander Zverev and John Isner both moved up. Germany’s Zverev, who will also feature in Spain’s Davis Cup clash, has returned to No.4. One spot shy of his career high. Meanwhile, Miami Open champion Isner has returned to his career best of 9th. A position he first held on April 16th 2012.
Outside of the top 10, Borna Coric has broke into the top 30 for the first time in his career at 28th. The Croat has enjoyed a strong run at the first two Masters 1000 events of the season. Reaching the semifinals of Indian Wells followed by the quarter-finals in Miami. Hyeon Chung, who also reached the last eight in Miami, has broken the top 20 at 19th for the first time. Becoming the first South Korean in history to do so.
At the other end of the spectrum, Bosnia’s Miza Basic was the biggest faller by dropping 20 places to 95th in the world. Since winning his first ATP title in Sofia earlier this year, Basic has only managed to win two matches on the tour. He is the only player to drop ten or more places in the top 100 this week.
ATP Top 20 (week commencing April 2nd 2018)
1. Rafael Nadal – 8770 points (+1)
2. Roger Federer – 8670 points (-1)
3. Marin Cilic – 4985 points
4. Alexander Zverev – 4925 points (+1)
5. Grigor Dimitrov – 4635 points (-1)
6. Juan Martin del Potro – 4470 points
7. Dominic Thiem – 3665 points
8. Kevin Anderson – 3390 points
9. John Isner – 3125 points (+8)
10. David Goffin – 3110 points (-1)
11. Lucas Pouille – 2410 points (-1)
12. Pablo Carreno Busta – 2395 points (+7)
13. Novak Djokovic – 2310 points (-1)
14. Sam Querrey – 2265 points
15. Diego Schwartzman – 2200 points (+1)
16. Jack Sock – 2200 points(-5)
17. Roberto Bautista-Agut – 2175 points (-2)
18. Tomas Berdych – 2140 points (-5)
19. Hyeon Chung – 1897 points (+4)
20. Fabio Fognini – 1840 points (-2)
