17-time Grand Slam champion Roger Federer has moved back up to the number two world ranking on Monday, overtaking two-time Grand Slam champion Andy Murray. After having to withdraw from the 2016 Mutua Madrid Open last week due to a back injury sustained in practice, the 34-year-old Swiss number one will compete in this week’s 2016 Internazionali BNL d’Italia.

However, the Rome-based tournament created the draws off of last week’s rankings, thus Murray will be the second seed and Federer will be the third seed. The Swiss Maestro will look to continue working his way back from his knee injury as well as now his back injury.

Federer overtakes Murray in ATP World Tour rankings

The 34-year-old Fed-Express has retaken the world number two ranking as of the ATP World Tour rankings on Monday, May 9th. Federer last held the number two ranking as of November 2nd, 2015. Even though Federer did not compete this past week in Spain and has not competed in many tournaments this year in general, Murray’s failure to repeat as champion in Madrid opened the door for Federer’s return to the second spot. After defeating Nadal in the semifinals, now world number three Andy Murray fell to world number one Novak Djokovic in finals on Sunday, 2-6, 6-3, 3-6.

Federer hits a backhand in last year's finals in Rome against Novak Djokovic. Credit: Ian Walton/Getty Images
Federer hits a backhand in last year's finals in Rome against Novak Djokovic. Credit: Ian Walton/Getty Images

Swiss Maestro faces tough road to maintain ranking

Despite regaining the ranking for the week of May 9th, do not be surprised if Federer and Murray swap spots once again following this week’s Master’s 1000 Series Event in Rome. The rankings system is based off of points, and players enter events needing to maintain as many points as they gained in the tournament the year’s past.

Last season, Murray only accumulated 90 points in Rome, or the equivalent of reaching the third round; he withdrew in that match due to fatigue. Should Murray reach the third round this year, he will have enough points to remain in the number three spot. Murray opens up play against either Borna Coric or a qualifier.

On the other hand, Federer, who has never won the title in the Eternal City, had a strong performance in Rome last year. The Fed-Express reached the finals before falling to Djokovic. Therefore, Federer would need to reach the finals once again to accumulate the 600 points given to a finalist in order to keep the world number two ranking. 

Given that Federer is now facing two injuries as well as a very tricky draw, perhaps the most difficult draw of any player, it is likely that the Swiss number one will not be able to hold on to the number two ranking beyond this week. While rankings often do not matter to the players, the rankings as of the start of next week will be used to determine the seeding’s for the 2016 French Open. Being seeded number two ensures that one would not play Djokovic until the finals, thus being seeded number two is very important.

Federer is a four-time finalist in Rome, last reaching last year's finals. Credit: Ian Walton/Getty Images
Federer is a four-time finalist in Rome, last reaching last year's finals. Credit: Ian Walton/Getty Images

Third-seeded Federer opens up play this week in Rome against the winner of 19-year-old Alexander Zverev and former world number eight Grigor Dimitrov. Either player presents a tough opening match for Federer. 

The Swiss Maestro’s path to the finals could include getting past Kei Nishikori in the quarterfinals, Djokovic or Rafael Nadal in the semis, and Murray in the finals. Federer is a four-time finalist in Rome, but he has never won the title. 

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About the author
Jake Best
Jake Best is a student at the University of Florida in Gainesville, Florida, majoring in journalism as well as minoring in French and Francophone studies. Beyond tennis, Jake has an interest in politics. He is the former president of Gators 4 Hillary. He also enjoys NFL football, baseball as well as world travel.