Rafael Nadal, shown at the 2012 French Open, moves to No. 4 in the world men's tennis rankings as of Monday. UPI/David Silpa |
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LONDON, May 20 (UPI) -- Rafael Nadal moves to the No. 4 spot in the men's world tennis rankings in the final update before the seedings and pairings for the French Open are determined.
Nadal, who had won the last three -- and seven of the last eight -- French Open titles, has been the ATP's most successful player this year. Since he returned from a knee injury in February, Nadal has appeared in eight tournaments, winning six and finishing second in the other two. He is 36-2 this year and has a 15-match winning streak.
That includes Sunday's 6-1, 6-3 win over No. 3-ranked Roger Federer in the final of the Italian Masters.
The hot streak allowed Nadal to pass David Ferrer, who he has beaten each of the last two weeks in three-set quarterfinal meetings, to return to fourth in the world rankings. Ferrer slipped to fifth.
The only other change in the Top 10 this week sees Janko Tipsarevic edge past Stanislas Wawrinka by 10 points for the No. 10 spot.
Novak Djokovic is a solid No. 1 and isn't likely to be threatened to fall from that spot for some time. He has 12,310 points. Andy Murray, who is to decide Wednesday whether a back injury will keep him out of the French Open, is second with 8,670 points and Federer is third at 8,000.
Nadal has 6,895 points and Ferrer is at 6,740.
Tomas Berdych is No. 6 with 4,700 points, with Juan Martin del Potro coming in seventh at 4,320. Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (3,975) remains eighth and Richard Gasquet (3.090) takes the No. 9 spot.
Tipsarevic has 2,640 and Wawrinka has 2,630.
Tipsarevic is the top seed for the Power Horse Cup tournament in Germany. Berdych was entered in the Nice Open in France but withdrew, leaving No. 17 Gilles Simon as the highest-ranked player in the draw.
The French Open begins next week.
