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What a week of tennis we have just witnessed. The 2023 Indian Wells tournament certainly did not disappoint, and we saw some absolute thrillers unfold during the event. Yet when all was said and done, it was Carlos Alcaraz who took home the trophy. Amazingly, he won the event without losing a single set, and this included a formidable performance in the final against Daniil Medvedev. In fact, by beating Medvedev in the final, he snapped a pretty staggering win streak that many people were starting to get excited about.
But putting the finalists aside, since Indian Wells is a Masters 1000 tournament, this means that plenty of rankings points were available. Those who made it deep in the draw secured points that have helped them to jump up the rankings this week. As for those who didn’t do quite so well, depending on how many points they had to defend, they’ve moved the wrong way down the ladder, unfortunately.
With this in mind, you’re no doubt wondering what the new ATP rankings updates have produced this week. So on that note, let me give you the main talking points.
ATP Rankings Updates – Week Commencing March 20th
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The ATP rankings for March 20th have officially been released. And just to clarify, with Indian Wells being the only tournament held over the last seven days, this is the only event where points have been earned or lost. Therefore, the rankings adjustments for the players I am about to discuss are all related to the Indian Wells tournament.
As for the guys that put in the best performances this week and racked up the most points, let me start with them.
The Week’s Biggest Climbers – Wawrinka, Fucsovics, Garin, and Draper Rise
Given that I like to focus on the most significant movement in the rankings with each update, the top guys haven’t featured here. Then again, it goes without saying that guys like Medvedev and Alcaraz did rack up points – it’s just that the impact wasn’t quite as severe as it has been for the four players I’ve listed. And speaking of severe rankings adjustments, the main riser of the week this time around is Cristian Garin. Following a run to the 4th round in Indian Wells after going through qualifying, Garin gained enough points to move up the ladder by 15 places – taking him to 82 in the world.
After Garin, the biggest movement was shared by Wawrinka and Draper. Both of these guys have jumped up by 13 positions this week, and they both made the 4th round. Wawrinka ultimately lost to Jannik Sinner, and Draper was forced to retire when playing Carlos Alcaraz. As for the 4th and final guy who was involved in the main draw at Indian Wells, it’s Marton Fucsovics who also produced a double-digit rankings increase. The powerful Hungarian has moved up 10 spots to take a new ranking of 74 in the world. And I have to say, it was great to see him playing the kind of tennis that we all know he is capable of.
These four guys have obviously enjoyed a great week, but I’d like to quickly reference the top 10 before we continue. With Alcaraz taking the title, he has moved back to number 1 in the world, and Medvedev has also entered the top 5 once again. Joining these guys on the rise is also Auger-Aliassime. After making the quarters he has jumped from 10 to 6!
The Week’s Biggest Fallers – Brooksby, Etcheverry, and Varillas Stumble
Now it’s time to look at the guys who are in the red this week instead of in the green. Of course, this isn’t the category that players want to be in, but it’s all part of the ATP rankings game. And interestingly, the three players I’ve mentioned here have all fallen by 12 spots. However, the reasons behind the decrease in rankings are a little different from one another. So, starting with Jenson Brooksy – injury forced him to withdraw before the start of the 2023 Indian Wells tournament. Since he made the 4th round at this tournament in 2022, he lost his points, which has taken him from 49 to 61.
As for the other guys, they’ve both been playing great in recent clay court tournaments. But trying to replicate such results in a 1000-level hard court event was always going to be a challenge. Etcheverry went out in the opening round to Andy Murray in what was a rather thrilling match I must say, and he has dropped to 73 in the rankings. As for Varillas, he was not involved in the 2023 Indian Wells event. Given that this week overlapped with points earned in 2022, Varillas has also dropped 12 places in the rankings to a new position of 88.
Needless to say, he won’t want to drop much lower going into the clay court swing as this is a surface that he obviously plays well on. I say this because he will definitely want to keep his ranking high enough to get into the main draws of lower-level events, while also getting into the qualifiers for larger tournaments.
Top Rankings Stories – Rafael Nadal Falls Outside of the ATP Top 10
I debated going with Alcaraz’s move back to the top for the main story this week. But when you see the figures behind Nadal’s streak inside the top 10 – for this to be broken, it’s a story I just had to highlight. In simply incredible fashion, Nadal has been ranked inside the top 10 for a grand total of 912 consecutive weeks. Just to put that into perspective, Nadal became a top 10 player for the first time in 2005, and he has remained there to this day.
Yet because of his injury problems, he was forced to miss Indian Wells this year. Due to this absence and his subsequent failure to defend the points from last year, Nadal has slid to 13 in the rankings, ending this incredible streak. And since he is also missing the Miami Open this week, there’s always the chance that his ranking could slide further.
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