This second edition of ATP Rankings Dissections takes place following an ATP 500 in Barcelona, and a ATP 250 in Bucharest which had its final postponed until today.
This article takes a look at the changes in the ATP rankings this week and in the Race To London, which is already heating up.
Verdasco headlines people rising up
It was a great week for Fernando Verdasco who won his seventh career title, and first in two years, by beating Lucas Pouille in the delayed final in Bucharest. The 6-3, 6-2 win saw the Spaniard rise an incredible 35 spots in the rankings; he now sits at 51st in the rankings.
It was also a big week for Pouille, as he reached his first career final, an effort which has seen him rise 16 spots to a career high of 56th. Federico Delbonis also benefited from a semifinal run in Bucharest, rising four spots to 36th, whilst Guido Pella rose three spots to 43rd after a quarterfinal showing.
Following the final in Barcelona, neither champion Rafael Nadal or runner-up Kei Nishikori changed positions, though Nadal has edged closer to taking the 4th seed position off Stan Wawrinka for the French Open. The biggest mover from Barcelona is Malek Jaziri, who has risen 12 spots to a career high of 64th, whilst fellow quarterfinalist, Andrey Kuznetsov, rose eight spots to 39th. Semifinalist Benoit Paire moved up one spot to 21st.
Another big mover this week was Gastao Elias. The Portuguese star rose 23 spots after winning a challenger in Turin, reaching a career high of 94th.
The only change in the top 20 saw Tomas Berdych replace David Ferrer at 8th in the rankings, after the Spaniard defended no points for Barcelona.
Garcia-Lopez headlines those falling down
Spanish veteran Guillermo Garcia-Lopez failed to defend the title in Bucharest, and falling 10 spots to 47th has almost certainly ended his chances to be seeded at Roland Garros. Martin Klizan also failed to defend points from Bucharest, and dropped eight spots to 44th.
The biggest faller of the week was Rajeev Ram, who fell 18 spots to 74th, whilst Tommy Robredo fell 14 spots to 72nd and Hyeon Chung fell 13 spots to 83rd.
Changes in the Race To London
Perhaps the most significant move in the Race To London was that of Nadal, who rose to second in the race after the title in Barcelona, pushing Milos Raonic and Andy Murray down by one spot. Kei Nishikori went up one spot to fifth, pushing Gael Monfils down to sixth.
Further down, Delbonis matched his movement in the rankings, rising four spots to tied 16th in the race, whilst Benoit Paire and Philipp Kohlschreiber, both semifinalists in Barcelona, rose 11 and 12 spots respectively; Paire is now 21st in the race, whilst Kohlschreiber is 22nd.
Once again, the biggest mover was Fernando Verdasco, who is now tied 36th in race after rising an incredible 49 spots.
Looking ahead
This week, ATP action heads to Istanbul, Estoril and Munich.
No defending champions are returning, with Andy Murray (Munich), Roger Federer (Istanbul) and Richard Gasquet (Estoril) all set to lose 250 points; the absence of all three certainly makes the draws interesting.