ATP rankings: the gap closes at the top as Sinner and Medvedev move up

Novak Djokovic remains at No 1, but the gap is closing beneath. In this week’s rankings report we look at that and the biggest risers after the Australian Open.

Jannik Sinner and Daniil Medvedev (Imago/Panoramic)

Chris Oddo

January 29, 2024

There were no changes inside the ATP’s Top 5 after the Australian Open, but, then again, there was change. Yes, Novak Djokovic is still the ATP’s No 1, followed by Carlos Alcaraz, Daniil Medvedev, Jannik Sinner and Andrey Rublev in the top fife, but the point-gap between the top four has shifted significantly.

Djokovic entered the Australian Open with a 2200 point lead over Alcaraz, a 3500-point lead over Medvedev and a 4565 point lead over Jannik Sinner. Those leads have been trimmed significantly as of Monday’s ATP rankings.

Now the new big four are all within 1545 points of one another.

Here’s how they stand now:

Novak Djokovic, 9855 points
Carlos Alcaraz 9255 points
Daniil Medvedev 8765 points
Jannik Sinner 8310 points

Sinner adds 1,820 points to his total thanks to winning his maiden major title, while Djokovic drops 1,200 points after losing in the semi-finals. Meanwhile, Alcaraz, who didn’t play in Melbourne last year, added 400 points and Medvedev, who lost in the third-round last year, added 1200 points.

The current squeeze at the top of the game will make things interesting between now and Roland-Garros, with Djokovic expecting to play a lighter schedule and the others all hungry to continue rising.

Tennis Majors

Career high for Hurkacz, as Rune and Fritz also move up

A first trip to the quarter-finals in Melbourne propels Poland’s Hubert Hurkacz to a career-high ranking of No 8. The Pole, who fell to Daniil Medvedev in five sets, is the highest-ranked man in Polish men’s tennis history.

Holger Rune, (+1 to No 7) and Taylor Fritz (+3 to No 9) also jumped, which pushed Stefanos Tsitsipas (-3) down to No 10.

For Tsitsipas, who lost in the round of 16 to Taylor Fritz in Australia, it marks his lowest ranking since May of 2019.

Tennis Majors

Career-High for Mannarino!

One of the great stories of week one, France’s Adrian Mannarino, clicks up two more spots in the rankings to a career-high ranking of No 17. The 35-year-old southpaw reached the round of 16 with a dramatic five-set win over Ben Shelton before falling to Novak Djokovic.

Tennis Majors

Portugal’s Borges cracks top 50

Becoming the first man from Portugal to reach the second week at the Australian Open has done wonders for Nuno Borges’ ranking. He pops 22 spots to make his top 50 debut, rising to No 47 from 69.

The 26-year-old had never been beyond the second round at a major before, but made big noise in Melbourne, notching wins over Alejandro Davidovich Fokina and Grigor Dimitrov to reach the second week.

Cazaux cracks top 100

A brilliant run to the round of 16 for France’s Arthur Cazaux has pushed the 21-year-old into the top 100 for the first time. Cazaux, who defeated Holger Rune and Tallon Griekspoor to reach the second week at a major for the first time, rises 39 spots to No 83.

Tennis Majors

New career highs for Etcheverry, Arnaldi, Marozsan, Michelsen, Cobolli and more!

There is no better way to start the year than by cracking a new career-high ranking, and that happened for several players this week, after good performances in Melbourne.

Here’s a list of some of the notable names that hit uncharted waters: