By Roberto Ferri
Also this year we conclude our weekly column on the ATP rankings by quoting the words which are said to be the last of emperor Augustus: “The play is over, applaud”.
And who, more than Novak Djokovic, deserves such an imperial applause? He crowns an outstanding year with a seventh ATP Finals title and a 400th week at the top of the rankings. Not to mention that it’s the 8th time he has ended the year as No.1. And what about the 2,390 points of margin on the No. 2 in the world, Carlos Alcaraz? As our director says: not too bad.
Since the top 20 positions are unchanged from last week, we have chosen to compare the final ranking of the top 20 players with the ranking they held at the start of 2023.
Position 20/11/23 | YOB | Player | Country | Pts | Position 02/01/23 | +/- |
1 | 1987 | Djokovic | Serbia | 11245 | 5 | 4 |
2 | 2003 | Alcaraz | Spain | 8855 | 1 | -1 |
3 | 1996 | Medvedev | Russia | 7600 | 7 | 4 |
4 | 2001 | Sinner | Italy | 6490 | 15 | 11 |
5 | 1997 | Rublev | Russia | 4805 | 8 | 3 |
6 | 1998 | Tsitsipas | Greece | 4235 | 4 | -2 |
7 | 1997 | Zverev | Germany | 3985 | 12 | 5 |
8 | 2003 | Rune | Denmark | 3660 | 11 | 3 |
9 | 1997 | Hurkacz | Poland | 3245 | 10 | 1 |
10 | 1997 | Fritz | USA | 3100 | 9 | -1 |
11 | 1998 | Ruud | Norway | 2825 | 3 | -8 |
12 | 1999 | de Minaur | Australia | 2740 | 24 | 12 |
13 | 1997 | Paul | USA | 2665 | 32 | 19 |
14 | 1991 | Dimitrov | Bulgaria | 2570 | 28 | 14 |
15 | 1996 | Khachanov | Russia | 2520 | 20 | 5 |
16 | 1998 | Tiafoe | USA | 2310 | 19 | 3 |
17 | 2002 | Shelton | USA | 2215 | 96 | 79 |
18 | 1995 | Norrie | GBR | 1940 | 14 | -4 |
19 | 1995 | Jarry | Chile | 1810 | 152 | 133 |
20 | 1998 | Humbert | France | 1765 | 86 | 66 |
A few comments:
· Among the top 10 Jannik Sinner is the one who has most improved his ranking. He started the year at No. 11. Now he’s 4th.
· Nicolas Jarry wins the prize for the most improved top 20 of the season: he has gained 133 positions.
· Casper Ruud is awarded a hardly desired prize: the most regressed. Indeed, from 3rd, he has dropped out of the top 10 and sadly rests in 11th seat.
· Brian Shelton and Ugo Humbert have performed brilliantly, gaining 79 and 66 positions respectively.
· The USA is the country boasting the highest number of players in the Top 20. Four Americans are featured in the top 20. Russia follows with three.
· 14 players of the top 20 are European.
· Five players who started 2023 in the top 20 have dropped out, mainly due to physical issues: Felix Auger Aliassime (29), Dennis Shapovalov (105), Pablo Carreno Busta (601), Matteo Berrettini (90) and Marin Cilic (664).
· Novak Djokovic is the only player who was born in the 80s. He’s still doing pretty well.
BEST RANKING
Among the 3 players who have risen to a career highest, the nineteen-year-old American Alex Michelsen is the only one who accomplished such feat by victoriously battling on court and triumphing in the Challenger in Knoxville.
Player | Position | Country |
Kotov | 67 | Russia |
Gojo | 72 | Croazia |
Michelsen | 93 | USA |
That’s really all for now. We’ll be back in the new season.
Translated by Kingsley Elliot Kaye