This is pretty seismic folks.
Not being able to defend his title in Australia and getting dumped in the quarterfinals has cost Rafael Nadal dearly as he drops from #2 to #4 in the rankings. Except for 3 weeks last August '09 Rafa has been in the top 2 since July 25, 2005 and during that time he spent 40 weeks at #1.
If Rafa doesn't return to the tour soon and in title winning form straight away it'll get worse before it gets better. He has a tons of points to defend between now and the French Open; if he can't deliver Del Potro and Davydenko will also leap over him. Won't that make for a potentially interesting draw at Roland Garros, no?
Rafa's fall to #4 means that Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray move past him marking career highs for them at #'s 2 and 3 respectfully. Also making his debut in the top 10 for the first time is Marin Cilic, he slips in at #10 and many tennis insiders feel he will reside within the top 10 for many years to come.
Oh yea, like I need to mention it but Roger Federer is #1 and closing in on Pete Sampras' record of total weeks on top.
Over on the women's tour Serena Williams widens her lead at #1 over Dinara Safina while Caroline Wozniacki moves to a career high of #3.
Two other women enjoy career high marks as Victoria Azarenka moves up one to #6 and Li Na jumps seven to #10.
And what of Justine Henin? She isn't yet eligible for a ranking but crudely calculating the two runner-up finishes she has produced in her two tournaments back from retirement she would squeeze in somewhere around #40.
Photo: Reuters
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