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In my humble opinion, the 2023 Roland Garros tournament was one of the best slams we’ve witnessed in recent times. Of course, the pre-tournament didn’t get off to a great start when it was revealed that Rafael Nadal would not defend his title. Yet once the first ball was struck in Paris, all of that was forgotten. With five-set thrillers taking place all over the place, the men’s singles draw was truly spectacular.
Over the course of the two-week tournament, we saw big names drop like flies, while underdogs shone through to make a name for themselves. And when all was said and done, there was just one man left standing – Novak Djokovic. Naturally, the Serb is stealing all of the headlines today after his remarkable achievement of winning 23 Grand Slams. However, in terms of actual ATP rankings changes, this isn’t the biggest story. In fact, it’s not even close.
There have been some huge changes for various players that are ranked inside the ATP’s top 100. Some of the changes might shock you too, so let me start to give you the scoop on the recent changes as of Monday, June 12th.
ATP Rankings Updates – Week Commencing June 12th
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Unlike the WTA rankings updates that occurred today, the ATP rankings updates have been influenced by just a single tournament. Of course, this single tournament relates to Roland Garros, which is the second slam of the year for both tours. Because of its status as a Grand Slam, the last fortnight has provided one of the biggest opportunities of the year for players to pick up points. Then again, the opposite is also true.
Therefore, there are certain players that have picked up a very handy number of points to help their ATP ranking over the last two weeks. Likewise, some players have lost points by failing to match or better their performances from this point last year. So – ready to find out which individuals fit into both categories as of June 12th, 2023? Let’s run through things right now.
The Week’s Biggest Climbers – Varillas, Arnaldi, and Ofner
Remember what I said about Roland Garros providing a huge opportunity for players to rack up points? Well, this opportunity is even greater for those players who didn’t have loads of points to defend, as well as for players who are lower down the rankings. Naturally, the two tend to go hand in hand, and there are three guys that made the most of it over the last fortnight. Kicking things off with the man who enjoyed the biggest rankings jump of them all, this award goes to Sebastian Ofner.
The Austrian player came through qualifying to reach the fourth round before going down to Stefanos Tsitsipas. Amazingly, this means he won six matches in Paris, and in reaching the 4th round, he has climbed 37 spots to a new rank of 81. This makes him the official climber of the week, and he really does deserve it. However, he wasn’t the only guy who enjoyed a great spell of tennis in the French capital. Ofner is followed by a young Italian, Matteo Arnaldi, who has jumped up the ATP rankings by 34 places as of the new updates today. This occurred as he reached the 2nd round at Roland Garros. And this puts him at 72 in the world as we move into the grass-court swing.
Finally, the player who is 3rd in line this week is Juan Pablo Varillas. In quite incredible fashion, Varillas won three five-set matches in a row to make the 4th round of Roland Garros. Sadly, he ran into Novak Djokovic at this point, but what a run it was! Thanks to this run, he finds himself 33 spots up the rankings, taking him to 61 in the world.
The Week’s Biggest Fallers – Cilic, Kubler, and Moutet
Although the players mentioned above will be in the mood to celebrate after their rankings increase, the same cannot be said for these three. However, it’s Marin Cilic who will be feeling the disappointment the most this week. Due to injury, he was forced to withdraw from Roland Garros. And since he played well in that event last year, he has dropped a load of points – resulting in a drop of 43 places to number 65. Of course, at 34 years of age, this isn’t the kind of territory he wants to be in.
Looking beyond Cilic, it was the 30-year-old Australian, Jason Kubler, who has also dropped major points over the last fortnight. Kubler isn’t exactly a great clay court player, but he was no doubt disappointed to crash out in the 2nd round of Roland Garros. This has caused a loss of points that takes him down 28 spots. As of today, he is now 97 in the world, and he will be eager to pick up some points on the grass ahead of Wimbledon to avoid qualifying.
Last but not least, Corentin Moutet joins these two as the 3rd man on the red list this week. The Frenchman did manage to win a round at the French Open, but that’s where his journey ended. He went down to Rublev in the second round, and he has slipped down to 77 in the ATP rankings as a result – a drop of 16 places.
Top Rankings Stories – Djokovic Secures GOAT Status
I fully understand that the GOAT debate in men’s tennis will never be unanimously settled. However, with Grand Slams being the ultimate metric of a player’s success in professional tennis, the fact that Djokovic has secured number 23 all but seals the deal. As you’ve read above, and as you probably knew already, Djokovic beat Casper Ruud yesterday to claim his 3rd French Open title. In doing so, he is now the only man who has won all four Grand Slams at least 3 times.
But most significantly, he has now entered a region where he stands alone in terms of Grand Slam wins. Nadal has 22, Federer retired with 20, and just to make things feel even sweeter – he has regained the world number 1 ranking. For me, this makes him the indisputable GOAT of the sport.
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