After a great week of Tennis at the Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters, there have been several changes in both the ATP Singles Rankings and the Road to London.
This article looks at some of the significant ranking moves after the events of last week.
Some changes in the top 20
There have been a few changes in the top 20 this week following Monte Carlo.
Whilst Monte Carlo champion Rafael Nadal stays at 5th in the rankings, runner-up Gael Monfils has risen two spots to 14th. His rise has seen Dominic Thiem drop one spot to 15th and John Isner drop one spot to 16th.
Semifinalist Jo-Wilfried Tsonga rises two places to 7th, dislodging Tomas Berdych who, after failing to defend his finalist points from last year by losing in the second round, falls two spots to 9th. This is only the 14th week he has been out the top eight ranking spots since he made the final of Wimbledon in 2010.
A run to the quarterfinal has seen Milos Raonic rise one spot to 11th in the rankings, replacing Marin Cilic who falls to 12th after pulling out of Monte Carlo due to injury, and therefore failing to defend his quarterfinal points from 2015.
Battle to be seeded at Roland Garros continues
One of the most interesting things to watch over the next few weeks will be to see who is able to get seeded for the French Open.
There were no real jumpers in this area of the ranking, though Grigor Dimitrov fell two spots to 28th after failing to defend his points from last year and this leaves him in slight danger, whilst the increase in ranking (by just one spot) that Jack Sock and Philipp Kohlschreiber (now 26th and 27th respectively) could help them secure a seeding for Roland Garros. Ivo Karlovic also rose one spot to 29th, whilst Alexandr Dolgopolov fell to 30th. Fabio Fognini and Steve Johnson stayed at 31st and 32nd respectively, as did Jeremy Chardy, Joao Sousa and Thomaz Bellucci in the positions below them.
Looking to rise up and get seeded for Roland Garros, it was not a good week for Federico Delbonis who fell four spots to 40th in the rankings; Martin Klizan, Guillermo-Garcia Lopez, Sam Querrey and Marcos Baghdatis all rose one spot because of that, edging them nearer to potentially being seeded.
Movements further down
The biggest mover in the top 100 was Ricardas Berankis, who rose 18 spots to a career high 62nd after winning a challenger in Gwangju last week. Two men who performed well in Monte Carlo last week, Marcel Granollers and Damir Dzumhur, have both risen 17 spots, with Granollers now at 50th and Dzumhur now at 82nd. Lucas Pouille is also moving up the rankings, rising ten spots to 72nd.
The biggest faller in the rankings in Victor Estrella Burgos, who fell ten spots to 78th in the rankings, while Tommy Robredo falls nine places to 58th. Other big fallers include Juan Monaco who falls eight spots to 94th, and Facundo Bagnis who drops by the same amount to 97th.
Race to London: Nadal rises into the top eight
Following his triumph in Monte Carlo, Nadal rose ten spots to 4th in the Race to London, putting him in a good position for the rest of the year, whilst fellow finalist Monfils rises from 9th to 5th in the race. Nadal and Monfils rising has pushed several players down, with Stan Wawrinka now 8th in the Race To London; Dominic Thiem and Kei Nishikori are just ahead of him.
Roger Federer has risen to place to 11th, after playing just his third tournament of 2016, whilst Tsonga has also made a significant move, rising nine places to 14th.
This week: Barcelona and Bucharest
The ATP tour heads to two famous European cities this week, with an ATP 500 in Barcelona and an ATP 250 in Bucharest.
Kei Nishikori is the defending champion in Barcelona and whilst he cannot be caught in the rankings this week, he’ll be looking to keep up with Rafael Nadal. Also, Tomas Berdych will be back in the top eight next week; he is only 70 points behind David Ferrer in the rankings, and the Spaniard is not defending 180 points from Barcelona.
In the race to be seeded for the French Open, Martin Klizan has 180 points to defend from Barcelona whilst Guillermo Garcia-Lopez will be determined to defend his Bucharest title and the 250 points he got from that.