After the US Open the Serbian champion reclaims top spot. Alexander Zverev is back in the Top 10
By Roberto Ferri
“Don’t ever underestimate the heart of a champion”
Rudy Tomjanovich coined this maxim just after his Houston Rockets won the NBA championship in 1995. He was paying homage to Akeem Holajuwon. It perfectly suits the heart of Daniil Medvedev, who proved 99% of tennis fans in the world to be wrong, convinced as they were that he would lose the semifinal to former No 1 Carlos Alcaraz.
But his dream to win a second US Open, after his triumph in 2021, was shattered by another champion, whose heart and class is even greater: that’s Novak Djokovic, who affixes his seal on his return to No.1, equalling Margaret Court Smith’s record of 24 majors.
Djokovic dethroning Alcaraz is not the only change in the top 20: Sascha Zverev is back in the top 10 after almost one year and Ben Shelton, great protagonist of the Us Open, debuts in the top 20 best players in the world.
TOP 20
| Position | Player | Country | Pts | +/- |
| 1 | Djokovic | Serbia | 11795 | 1 |
| 2 | Alcaraz | Spain | 8535 | -1 |
| 3 | Medvedev | Russia | 7280 | |
| 4 | Rune | Denmark | 4710 | |
| 5 | Tsitsipas | Greece | 4615 | 2 |
| 6 | Rublev | Russia | 4515 | 2 |
| 7 | Sinner | Italy | 4465 | -1 |
| 8 | Fritz | USA | 3955 | 1 |
| 9 | Ruud | Norway | 3560 | -4 |
| 10 | Zverev | Germany | 3030 | 2 |
| 11 | Tiafoe | USA | 2690 | -1 |
| 12 | de Minaur | Australia | 2685 | 1 |
| 13 | Paul | USA | 2660 | 1 |
| 14 | Auger-Aliassime | Canada | 2340 | 1 |
| 15 | Khachanov | Russia | 2135 | -4 |
| 16 | Hurkacz | Poland | 2035 | 1 |
| 17 | Norrie | GB | 1985 | -1 |
| 18 | Musetti | Italy | 1925 | |
| 19 | Shelton | USA | 1735 | 28 |
| 20 | Dimitrov | Bulgaria | 1735 | -1 |
A few comments:
Stefanos Tsitsipas, Andrei Rublev and Alexander Zverev gain 2 positions.
Ben Shelton devours 28 positions.
Sinner, Tiafoe, Norrie and Dimitrov lose one.
Casper Ruud and Karen Khachanov, runner up and semi-finalist respectively at the 2022 US Open, drop 4 positions.
One step forward for Fritz, de Minaur, Paul, Auger-Aliassime and Hurkacz.
ATP NITTO FINALS
From 12 to 19 November the 8 best players of the ranking based on the points earned in the ongoing solar season will be playing the Nitto ATP Finals in Turin.
Will Novak Djokovic succeed in winning a second straight title? He appears to be heading in the right direction.
| Rank | Player | Country | Pts | +/- |
| 1 | Djokovic | Serbia | 8945 | 1 |
| 2 | Alcaraz | Spagna | 8175 | -1 |
| 3 | Medvedev | Russia | 6590 | |
| 4 | Sinner | Italia | 4365 | |
| 5 | Rublev | Russia | 3640 | 1 |
| 6 | Tsitsipas | Grecia | 3570 | -1 |
| 7 | Rune | Denmark | 3055 | |
| 8 | Zverev | Germania | 3030 | |
| 9 | Fritz | USA | 3010 | |
| 10 | Ruud | Norway | 2625 |
Thanks to his triumph at the US Open the Serbian overtakes Alcaraz also in the Race to Turin.
Jannik Sinner holds fourth spot while Andrei Rublev overtakes Stefanos Tsitsipas and is now fifth.
The eighth position is occupied by Alexander Zverev.
Last year runner up, Casper Ruud is currently 10th. This means he would feature in Turin as a reserve.
ATP NEXT GENERATION FINALS
The Next Gen Finals, dedicated to the best under 21s, (8 effectives and 2 reserves) of the season will take place this year in Gedda, Saudi Arabia.
The 2022 winner, Brandon Nakashima, will not be defending his title, since he was born in 2001.
| Position | Player | Country | Pts | YOB | ATP rank |
| 1 | Alcaraz | Spain | 8175 | 2003 | 2 |
| 2 | Rune | Denmark | 3055 | 2003 | 4 |
| 3 | Shelton | USA | 1455 | 2002 | 19 |
| 4 | Musetti | Italy | 1300 | 2002 | 18 |
| 5 | Fils | France | 953 | 2004 | 44 |
| 6 | Van Assche | France | 597 | 2004 | 69 |
| 7 | Stricker | Switzerland | 576 | 2002 | 90 |
| 8 | Michelsen | USA | 492 | 2004 | 117 |
| 9 | Medjedovic | Serbia | 485 | 2003 | 121 |
| 10 | Cazaux | France | 455 | 2002 | 130 |
| 11 | Cobolli | Italy | 405 | 2002 | 132 |
| 12 | Llamas Ruiz | Spain | 370 | 2002 | 133 |
Taking for granted that Alcaraz and, most likely Rune, will be playing the ATP Finals, we have included in the chart the 12 current top under 21s.
BEST RANKING
Besides Ben Shelton, other 11 players have achieved their career highest this week.
We tribute a double applause to the four players who are making their debut in the top 100.
The 25-year-old Croatian Borna Gojo, 22-year-old Australian Rinky Hijkata and the Swiss next gen Dominic Stricker all reap the reward for their brilliant runs at the US Open. Seyboth Wild, the Brazilian who stunned Medvedev in the first round of Roland Garros leaps to No.76 after winning the Challenger in Como last week.
| Player | Position | Country | Progress |
| Shelton | 19 | USA | 28 |
| Jarry | 22 | Chile | 3 |
| Baez | 28 | Argentina | 4 |
| Fils | 44 | France | 4 |
| Arnaldi | 47 | Italy | 14 |
| Altmaier | 49 | Germany | 4 |
| O’Connell | 53 | Australia | 16 |
| Seyboth Wild | 76 | Brazil | 30 |
| Gojo | 77 | Croatia | 28 |
| Watanuki | 78 | Japan | 7 |
| Mmoh | 81 | USA | 8 |
| Hijkata | 83 | Australia | 27 |
| Stricker | 90 | Switzerland | 38 |
Translated by Kingsley Elliot Kaye
