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Unlike the WTA Tour where there was just a single event played last week, the ATP Tour had three tournaments completed. In case you missed the action over the last seven days, these events were the Barcelona Open, Munich Open, and the Srpska Open. With Barcelona being a 500-level tournament, however, this was the one that pulled in the biggest names on tour. Nevertheless, the other two tournaments still held 250 status, so there were some players who chose to go for them instead.
It was truly a great week of tennis in all regards too, with Alcaraz snatching the title in Barcelona. As for the other two events, Holger Rune pulled off an epic comeback in Munich to snatch the title from the jaws of defeat. And in the Srpska Open, it was a bit of a fairytale for Dusan Lajovic, who won the tournament while also taking down Djokovic in the process. Yet as great as this week was, things are only going to ramp up from here as the journey to Paris continues.
This week, we have the start of the 2023 Madrid Open, a 1000-level Masters event. So the guys who performed best in the last 7 days will no doubt be hoping to keep the momentum going. Anyway, we’re not looking forward here. Instead, we are looking at the changes as per the most recent ATP rankings adjustment from the previous week. So let me share all of the juicy details with you now.
ATP Rankings Updates – Week Commencing April 24th
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It’s always more exciting when several tournaments have been completed at the same time on the ATP Tour. Needless to say, this promotes more dynamic movement in the rankings compared to weeks where just one tournament has been played. Furthermore, with one event being a 500-level tournament, accompanied by two 250-level events, some players have picked up plenty of points to help them climb the ladder. I shall focus on these players first before we cover who has entered the dreaded red zone this week.
The Week’s Biggest Climbers – Lajovic, Molcan, and Garin Enjoy Double-Digit Rises
As I referenced earlier, the last seven days were something quite remarkable for Dusan Lajovic. He is the official climber of the week by quite some distance, and he really does deserve it. The Serbian player was nothing short of phenomenal at the Srpska Open. He marched to the title with some thrilling tennis, winning three of his five matches in deciding sets. This included wins over Novak Djokovic, Kecmanovic, and the recent Monte Carlo champion, Andrey Rublev in the finals.
As a result of this tournament victory, Lajovic has jumped 30 places higher in the ATP rankings. This takes him from 70 to 40 in the rankings, as he cleaned up 250 points by winning the tournament. And to emphasize just how impressive this is, the man who has climbed by the second-highest number of spots has gone up by 15 spots. This man is Alex Molcan, who has climbed to a new ranking of 58 following his run to the semi-finals at the Srpska Open. He actually lost to Rublev in the semis, which isn’t a bad loss whatsoever.
Finally, the man who has crept in as the only other player with a double-digit leap is Cristian Garin. The Chilean has moved from 86 in the rankings up to 73 – posting a 13-place rise for his results last week. Specifically, Garin reached the quarter-finals in Munich before losing out to Holger Rune – the man who ultimately won the tournament. So for these three guys, it has been a very productive week on the ATP Tour.
The Week’s Biggest Fallers – Schwartzman and Huesler Dominate the Red Region
No player ever wants to be in the ‘red region’ following an ATP rankings update. Of course, I am referencing the color awarded to guys who have slid down the rankings each week. And this time around, it’s Diego Schwartzman who is featuring once more in the biggest fallers category. For those who’ve been tracking Schwartzman in recent months, he really has been struggling to find his form. Even on the surface that he loves the most, which is clay, he has still struggled to produce the results that we’ve come to expect from this man.
And last week in Barcelona, he won just one match before losing to Jannik Sinner in the round of 32. Sure, this is a tough draw, but because of this, Schwartzman has dropped by 24 positions to a new low of 72. Given that Schwartzman has previously been one of the top players on tour, this is not a place where he would expect to be. And this drop makes him the biggest faller of the week in terms of the rankings drop.
He is joined by Marc-Andrea Huesler of Switzerland, who is the only other player inside the top 100 who has moved by double-digits in the red zone. Huesler has slipped 13 positions to 76 in the world this week, mainly because he lost in the round of 16 in Munich to Dominic Thiem. As a result, his cumulative points total fell by 60, which is clearly enough to move him by 13 spots.
Top Rankings Stories – Alcaraz Successfully Defends Title for First Time
Although there was some great tennis being played around Europe for the last seven days, I feel there is one story that tops the bunch. That story relates to Carlos Alcaraz and his title run at the Barcelona Open. Believe it or not, this is the first time that Alcaraz has successfully defended one of his titles, and he beat Tsitsipas for the 4th time to do this. To be honest, the final was pretty one-sided, but nothing can be taken away from Alcaraz.
He was clearly the dominant player in the tournament, and he successfully defended his crown without losing a single set. This just adds fuel to the fire surrounding the discussion on what this guy could achieve in his tennis career. And since this win keeps Alcaraz at number 2 in the ATP rankings, he heads into the 2023 Madrid Open as the top seed. Bear in mind this was where he really made a name for himself in 2022, beating Nadal and Djokovic back to back.
So I’m very excited to watch Alcaraz compete in this event!
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