Federer drops to sixth as Djokovic strengthens grip on number one
Novak Djokovic strengthened his grip on the world number one spot after victory at the Australian Open, while breakout stars Stefanos Tsitsipas and Frances Tiafoe earned career-high rankings.
Djokovic cruised to a record seventh title in Melbourne with his straight-sets victory over Rafael Nadal in Sunday’s final, a win that saw him extend his advantage over the Spaniard by 980 points.
Roger Federer’s fourth-round exit to Tsitsipas at 2019’s first grand slam sees him slip three places to sixth in the world, with Alexander Zverev, Juan Martin del Potro and Kevin Anderson climbing above him.
Tsitsipas’ reward for reaching the last four sees him move to 12th in the rankings, his personal best, while Tiafoe has broken into the top-30 for the first time after rising nine spots.
New Career-High Rankings for #NextGenATP Players
12 @StefTsitsipas GRE 20
28 @AlexdeMinaur AUS 19
30 @FTiafoe USA 21
118 Miomir Kecmanovic SRB 19
124 @AlexeiPopyrin99 AUS 19
182 Rudolf Molleker GER 18
183 @W412Yosuke JPN 20
194 @MikaelYmer SWE 20
197 Jurij Rodionov AUT 19
— ATP Media Info (@ATPMediaInfo) January 28, 2019
It is all change at the top of the WTA rankings with Naomi Osaka and Petra Kvitova taking the top-two places from Simona Halep and Angelique Kerber.
Osaka has a 740-point advantage over Kvitova after winning their duel in Saturday’s final, the Japanese becoming the first player since Jennifer Capriati in 2001 to win her first two grand slams back-to-back.
Halep drops to third after her fourth-round defeat to Serena Williams, who rises five places to 11th.
Semi-finalist Danielle Collins jumps 12 to a career-best 23, a fine reward for a stunning performance in Melbourne that included wins over Julia Goerges, Caroline Garcia and Kerber.
