Rafa's ATP Ranking Watch

This thread is for the RafaStattos out there, who like to keep an eye on Rafa's ranking points and the movers and shakers around him within the Top Twenty ...

Week beginning 21st March, 2011

1 Nadal, Rafael (ESP) 12,870
2 Djokovic, Novak (SRB) 9,700
3 Federer, Roger (SUI) 8,550
4 Murray, Andy (GBR) 5,545
5 Soderling, Robin (SWE) 5,420
6 Ferrer, David (ESP) 4,600
7 Berdych, Tomas (CZE) 3,900
8 Verdasco, Fernando (ESP) 2,925
9 Melzer, Jurgen (AUT) 2,660
10 Monfils, Gael (FRA) 2,600
11 Mardy Fish 2,376
12 Almagro, Nicolas (ESP) 2,350
13 Wawrinka, Stanislas (SUI) 2,320
14 Roddick, Andy (USA) 2,270
15 Youzhny, Mikhail (RUS) 2,205
16 Troicki, Viktor (SRB) 1,790
17 Tsonga, Jo-Wilfried (FRA) 1,715
18 Gasquet, Richard 1,700
19 Nalbandian, David (ARG) 1,585
20 Sam Querry (USA) 1,520

Rafa's lead over the number 2 ranked player: 3,170 points. DOWN by 750 points from last issue.

You can view Rafa's 2011 schedule here.

Although Nole's resurgence has impacted on the gap between him and Federer, the points between Rafa and Feds have not changed over the past few weeks.

As the season will take off again with the Masters Series at IW & Miami, and with Rafa having his usual shedload of points to defend on clay, it will be very interesting to see how it all develops over the coming weeks and months.

Thanks Wooffs, I am a bit of a Rafanorak with the rankings.

I have been looking at Nole's performance last year - he's only got 100 points to defend during Indian Wells/Miami, a semi-final at Monte Carlo, quarter at Rome and didn't play at Madrid (is that right?!). He's got the chance to make up a lot of ground, and being the form player at the moment I can see him quite easily getting the No 2 spot sooner rather than later. Though of course, write off Feds at your peril

I'm hoping for at least one final appearance for Rafa over the next two Masters (a win would be fabulous) and please at least a defence of the two SFs.

Vamos!

EEeeeek ... blimey, when you spell it all out as you are doing Rafan, Nole has a great shout over the coming weeks.

<hides> but it does make it interesting, doesn't it?? <bitesnails>

Seeing as there's a Masters on this week, I thought I'd have a look at what players have got to defend this week.

Rafa of course is defending 360 as a defeated semi-finalist. Federer is defending only 45 points, Nole defending 90, Soderling defending 360, Murray defending 180.

Andy Roddick will have to do well over the next two tournaments - he's defending a final here and a win in Miami and of course Ljubicic is carrying 1000 points from last year's IW win - almost half of his current tally of 2055 points in 16th place in the rankings. Can he beat Delpo to defend at least some of these points?

Feds and Nole could do well here.

As for Roddick and Looby ... I don't rate their chances. I think last years US Spring hardcourt series was a bit ... weird.

Its all to play for!!

It's definitely going to be an interesting few months for the rankings. As a statistician, I can't help but be interested!

On a wider note, Rafa is up to 8th on all-time weeks at number 1, with Andre Agassi the next target. Rafa will need another 3 months at numero uno to move above AA. Borg is the next target after that, and that will require another 2 months. Then it gets tough... The top 5 on that list all had at least 170 weeks atop the rankings.

All a bit of a sideshow really, if Rafa plays well it will take care of itsef.

Thanks P4thS for your input

I've actually never been aware of those stats before and that Rafa is hot on the heels of taking another record off Andre. I know players don't bother too much about this sort of thing, but I find it quite interesting.

Can I ask who the Top 5 are? I can assume 3, but it would nice to have the full picture.

No worries! It's my first time here today, after witnessing the slow death of 606. So far, so good.

The top 5 are:

1. Pete Sampras (286 weeks)
2. Roger Federer (285)
3. Ivan Lendl (270)
4. Jimmy Connors (268)
5. John McEnroe (170)

Rafa will have 88 weeks (and counting!) after Indian Wells. It's a long climb to Johnny Mac and then longer still to the rarified air of the top 4, who are quite bunched.

Thanks for that! Thought it was the top three, wondered about Connors, had no idea about Johnny Mac. Call myself a fan!!

If Rafa steals a number on Agassi and Borg, that would be achievement enough for me.

Hope you enjoy 606v2. We've only been here a couple of weeks, but its been great so far.

Hi P4S,

Welcome to the forum........hope you enjoy yourself here.

The tennis forum is really picking up pace now........your input will be greatly appreciated

Solerina

Wooffie,

Agreed. Having spent so long as #2 - partly due to Federer's mastery during 2005-2007 and also due to Nadal being so good, so young on clay - it's unlikely Rafa will challenge those top few guys for weeks at #1. To surpass Agassi and Borg would be terrific nonetheless. Interestingly, Djokovic is close to the all-time record of weeks at #3, shows how well Nadal and Federer have pretty much monopolised the top two spots.

Solerina,

Hi, thanks for the welcome. Enjoyed my first day on the boards, keep up the good work!

Hi all


I fink your man is going great guns - Unfortunately My *Hero*
isn't !

I MIGHT just fall in luuurve

:run2:

Hehe ... you'll need to get to the back of a verry long Rafateerqueue, Yummy.

P4thS - its all really interesting stuff regarding the top 3. Federer kept Rafa waiting for so long, Feds/Rafa the same to Djokovic, Rafa to Djokovic perhaps now. Its like in 2005 when Rafa one a Slam and I can't remember how many other titles that year now. But the point is, at any other time, the sheer number of titles would have got him No. 1, but for the previous dominance and points lead that Federer had. Its also worth noting in 2008 at Hamburg, Djokovic could have taken Rafa's number 2 (helped by his AO win), but that's where their careers both collided and went in the complete opposite direction. Rafa to No. 1 and it was the start of a bit of a decline/stagnant period for Djokovic.

Is this why we find tennis so interesting??

Absolutely, Rafa would have been a nailed on number one much earlier if it wasn't for Federer dominating everything but the clay court season. Plenty of players got to the top spot on the back of success on a single surface, but Federer set the bar so high that Rafa needed to achieve success away from clay before he could get there. That is what has impressed me most about Rafa, seeing him visibly improve on grass on hard courts.

Yes, I watched Djokovic a lot in 2007-2008 and he was outstanding. I really thought the AO win in 2008 would be the springboard but it strangely never materialised. I think he's back for good this time though, and will be all the better for his (relative) struggles. His rivalry with Nadal could be THE rivalry in tennis over the next few years.

The stats, and nuances therein, definitely add an extra layer of interest for me. Still find it incredible that Federer has ended up one week shy of yet another record. So far...

Some happenings today in Rafa's Ranking Watch.

The top 3 all improved their points, but the significant occurance - obviously - was that Novak switches with Roger for the number 2 spot.

Rafa's IW final appearance means that he has improved his points by +240, however, Nole has had a signifcant gain of +910.

Whilst Rafa has an overall lead of 3,920 points ... it is down -505 points from 2 weeks ago.

Good luck in the final hardcourt tournie of the Spring in Miami, Rafa!!!

After this week's results, Novak closes the gap to 3170 points. Rafa now has 5000 points to defend during the clay court season (but is due to play Barcelona so could also pick up some points there), and Novak has 900 points to defend, so obviously has the potential to pick up quite a few more - he had a SF in Monte Carlo (360), a QF in Rome (180) and a QF at the French Open (360). He didn't play Madrid last year due to illness.

Murray also returned to No 4, despite his swift exit at the hands of another US qualifier in Miami.

I have to say I'm glad that Nole is No 2 at the moment - I wouldn't want Rafa facing him before the final on ANY surfrace just now.

I agree, Rafan.

You have to fancy Rafa for MC, and if Nole could perhaps get one off him, it could be Madrid. Points only to pick up at Barcelona, 250? which could perhaps offset a loss at Madrid. Off course Nole can do it in Rome as he got to the final in 2009 and has won it before.

My head hurts!!

I felt Nole wore himself out a bit in last year's clay court season. This is a big test for him now, having to time after time after time be at the end of tournies. Can his improved stamina do this? And where has that come from? A new trainer?

Well, Barcelona is a 500, so that would be something nice to pick up.

As for Nole's new improved stamina, I have got no idea, perhaps one of our Nole fans can inform us? He also doesn't seem to be suffering with the heat as he once did, but that is probably down to improved fitness as well.

Good times for Novak!

Hello MC bound Rafateers. It seems almost unbelievable that the clay starts now - no rest for the wicked or tennis players.

I'm still feeling sad about yesterday, but trying to look at the positives:-

Knees seem to be holding up ok.

More points than this time last year.

Ignoring the aberration that is Karlovic, the only player that seems to be really troubling him on h/c is this year's red hot player. 3/4 years ago, it was every big flat hitter (Blake, Berdych, Tsonga, etc).

I'm sure Uncle T will come up with a strategy for countering the new improved Novak. Got to execute it, of course, but when you think of the way Rafa played on grass in 2005, there is no one better at learning and improving.

rafandready wrote:As for Nole's new improved stamina, I have got no idea, perhaps one of our Nole fans can inform us? He also doesn't seem to be suffering with the heat as he once did, but that is probably down to improved fitness as well.

I'm not a 'Nole fan' (although I quite like him) but maybe I can answer this. Nole took on a new doctor/guru last year that appears to have done wonders for him. This guy is an holistic doctor steeped in ancient Chinese medicine who treats the mind and body as one. Some of his methods seem almost charlatan in nature but they seem to have worked wonders on Novak so I guess that's good. Nole has mentioned a number of times about straightening out a lot of personal issues which is all part of this doctor's routine plus he's on a special diet...low protein I believe which has supposedly cleaned out his veins and arteries to allow the oxygen to be carried throughout his body more efficiently.

The doctor/guru travels with Novak and his team and his psychological and physical regimens are part of Nole's daily routine. Sure seems to be working!! There was an article I saw a few weeks ago which wasn't an actual interview per se but the writer/blogger happened to sit next to the doctor on a flight and had a very interesting discussion with him about his methods and philosophies on a general basis, not particularly Novak related. I'll look around and see if I can find the link to it.

Vernon A very, very interesting post and we would look forward to you bringing more on this subject, but most of all ...

... its great you've found us. Welcome. And we hope to see you here often.

We haven't been on here for a while

I have received an email (I'm sure many of you have) informing me that Djokovic has now qualified for the World Tour Finals, and it contained a breakdown of the race ranking points so far:

Pos. Name YTD Points
1. N. Djokovic (SRB) 6,975
2. R. Nadal (ESP) 4,390
3. D. Ferrer (ESP) 2,740
4. R. Federer (SUI) 2,620
5. A. Murray (GBR) 2,030
6. R. Soderling (SWE) 1,630
7. T. Berdych (CZE) 1,485
8. N. Almagro (ESP) 1,440
9. J. M. del Potro (ARG) 1,375
10. R. Gasquet (FRA) 1,090

I wish they still had the race points as a proper feature of the ATP website instead of just the ranking points!

Interestingly, Rafa is already quite close to the projected cut for the World Tour Finals too. Shows that he's having a good season, and, as he says, it is just one guy who is making it seem otherwise.

Hi P4thS,

I have been very, very lax in up-dating this element of our fan corner, but I'll start up again after the FO.

Again, whilst we get a bit <doom> - bar one other player - Rafa's results have been really good this year, so I'm not surprised that he is already close to qualifying for the WTF.

Hi Woofs,

No problem - there are bigger fish to fry at the minute...

If, as seems inevitable, Rafa does become number two again then he'll have been a bit unlucky, twice-over. He played second fiddle to Federer for a long time as we discussed above. Alas, the points system does not reflect how many points the number two actually had, and whether it would have been enough to comfortably be number one in a different time.

I don't see Rafa staying number 2 for too long even if he does lose number 1.

Here's a possible projection of the next few months (all hypothetical of course ... lots of ifs!)

IF Rafa wins tomorrow, he will be 45 ahead of Djokovic; by Wimbledon he will be 65 ahead as Djokovoc will lose 20 from Queens, if not a greater margin if he plays Queens, as at the moment his 2010 Queens points are uncounted in his tally.

It seems likely that Rafa will need to win Wimbledon again to hold Djoko off. That may be a big ask, but if he DOES win tomorrow I think it will give him a big confidence boost which may steady his nerves and game, and he will have the mental edge over Federer and Murray in Wimbledon, as well as knowing Djoko is beatable.

If Rafa does hold Wimbledon, in order to gain on him Djoko will need to better his semifinal from last year, and that would mean going through Murray or Federer, both of whom are more comfortable with grass than he is and both of whom have tested him recently....
..which could see Rafa emerging from Wimbledon still 65 ahead.
Come August 8th Rafa should get his 500 points from Barcelona when his 0 pointer drops off leaving him 565+.

Then we arrive at the N.American hard court Masters, where Rafa and Djokovic hold identical points in the 2 tournaments 180 and 360...so there it's a question of who goes deepest - but for the first time in a while Rafa will be able to gain points

Which brings us to the US Open! Yes Rafa has to defend the title, but Djoko has Finalist points to defend... and after that the Autumn, where Rafa has less to defend.

By 2012 Djoko will have a bucketload of points to defend and Rafa can only gain in all but MC and Barcelona.....before next years RG...

Does this bring any cheer?

yummymummy wrote:Hi all


I fink your man is going great guns - Unfortunately My *Hero*
isn't !

I MIGHT just fall in luuurve

Hi yummy... dont lose heart he did play some blistering tennis yesterday... Rafa had to dig deep a few times there but your hero did well he is after all still at Number 4 and he WILL come through ...keep the faith

Victory on Sunday made sure Rafa achieved 100 weeks in total at number one, a nice milestone. Agassi and Borg are within touching distance now, then it gets tough:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_ATP_number_1_ranked_singles_players

Seems like Rafa has reached the stage of his career where it's milestones galore. I'm delighted he matched Borg as that was a long-standing record and shows just how good he's been on clay. Hoping he'll play with a bit more elan now that he's landed a big title.

Not sure which of the threads to post this Wooffie but if you havent already seen this article its a must



http://joeposnanski.si.com/2011/06/06/the-unbeatable-rafa/?xid=si_topstories

That is a great article, Haddie. Especially so seeing as a Federer fan wrote it and is giving absolute credit to the wonder of Rafa as a tennis player. A lead that would be nice if it were followed ...

Do you want to post it on Rafachat??

What a wonderful article Haddie....at last someone can see what we can see....

Wooffie wrote:That is a great article, Haddie. Especially so seeing as a Federer fan wrote it and is giving absolute credit to the wonder of Rafa as a tennis player. A lead that would be nice if it were followed ...

Do you want to post it on Rafachat??

If you want me to Wooffie I will... glad you enjoyed