by Roberto Ferri
The Shanghai Masters 1000 has been lavish with gifts. The man of the week, Hubert Hurkacz departs from China with a second career Masters 1000 title and whizzes up in the rankings. The runner up, Andrey Rublev, as well as equalling his best ranking, goes away with a big bruise on his knee, after insistently bashing it with his racket at the end of the match.
Thanks to his second Master 1000 title Hurkacz is on the tail of the top 10, both in the ATP Rankings and in the Race to Turin.
Position | Player | Country | Pts | +/- |
1 | Djokovic | Serbia | 11045 | |
2 | Alcaraz | Spain | 8805 | |
3 | Medvedev | Russia | 7355 | |
4 | Sinner | Italy | 5000 | |
5 | Rublev | Russia | 4800 | 2 |
6 | Rune | Denmark | 4640 | -1 |
7 | Tsitsipas | Greece | 4360 | -1 |
8 | Ruud | Norway | 3685 | 1 |
9 | Zverev | Germany | 3460 | 1 |
10 | Fritz | USA | 3410 | -2 |
11 | Hurkacz | Poland | 2900 | 6 |
12 | Paul | USA | 2705 | |
13 | de Minaur | Australia | 2650 | -2 |
14 | Tiafoe | USA | 2355 | -1 |
15 | Khachanov | Russia | 2340 | -1 |
16 | Dimitrov | Bulgaria | 2195 | 3 |
17 | Auger-Aliassime | Canada | 2100 | -2 |
18 | Norrie | GBR | 2020 | -2 |
19 | Shelton | USA | 1865 | 1 |
20 | Musetti | Italy | 1845 | -2 |
In the Top 10:
· Andrej Rublev moves up to fifth spot, equalling his career best.
· Casper Ruud and Alexander Zverev gain a position.
· Holger Rune and Stefanos Tsitsipas, both struggling in this period, slip one position down a place. Taylor Fritz drops two and is No. 10.
Rankings from 10 to 20:
· Hubert Hurkacz is just a step away from the top 10.
· Grigor Dimitrov – semi-finalist in Shanghai – moves up to No. 16.
· Ben Shelton gains one position and is 19th, equalling his best ranking.
· De Minaur, Tiafoe, Khachanov, Auger-Aliassime, Norrie and Musetti slightly retreat, but do not drop out of the top 20.
NITTO ATP FINALS
Jannik Sinner joins Novak Djokovic, Carlos Alcaraz and Daniil Medvedev, mathematically qualified for the ATP Finals. In 2021 he had played the finals as a reserve.
If Andrey Rublev had converted the match point he set up in the deciding tiebreaker of the Shanghai final, he would already be qualified as well. His ample margin over those following reassures him it is just a matter of time.
Indeed, the breaking news of the week is Hubert Hurkacz, who has rose to 11th place, just 20 points from Casper Ruud.
Plenty of points are at stake in the next weeks and the battle to secure the last spots is likely to spur some panache.
RACE TO TURIN
Position | Player | Country | Pts | +/ |
1 | Djokovic | Serbia | 8945 | |
2 | Alcaraz | Spain | 8445 | |
3 | Medvedev | Russia | 6935 | |
4 | Sinner | Italy | 4945 | |
5 | Rublev | Russia | 4275 | |
6 | Tsitsipas | Greece | 3615 | |
7 | Zverev | Germany | 3415 | |
8 | Rune | Denmark | 3110 | |
9 | Fritz | USA | 2965 | |
10 | Ruud | Norway | 2795 |
…
BEST RANKING
Eleven players of the top 100 have achieved their career highest this week.
Among them Nicolas Jarry and Sebastian Korda, two of the most outstanding performers in Shanghai, are at the gate of the Top 20, in 21st and 23rd position respectively.
Remarkable is the feat of Fabian Marozsan, already famous for his win over Carlos Alcaraz in Rome earlier this year, who has gained 26 positions thanks to his quarterfinal in Shanghai.
Player | Position | Country | + |
Jarry | 21 | Chile | 1 |
Korda | 23 | USA | 3 |
McDonald | 37 | USA | 1 |
Fils | 38 | France | 6 |
Purcel | 40 | Australia | 1 |
Ofner | 47 | Austria | 2 |
Marozsan | 65 | Hungary | 26 |
Kokkinakis | 68 | Australia | 1 |
Hijkata | 70 | Australia | 5 |
Watanuki | 73 | Japan | 6 |
Machac | 81 | Czech Republic | 15 |
Translated by Kingsley Elliot Kaye