Novak Djokovic Up To 6th In ATP Race Rankings And In Position For Run At No. 1

Heading into Rome, Novak Djokovic was reeling with just six wins in 12 matches, but the Serb has since turned things around in big way, taking 27 of his last 31 matches including titles and Wimbledon and yesterday at Cincinnati, which gave him the full set of Masters trophies.

The results have risen his ranking. He was down to No. 22 in June, but is up to No. 6 as today in the 52-week rankings, with no points to defend until January.

And in the 2018 Race, he is now at No. 3, just behind 175 points behind No. 2 Roger Federer and 2,315 behind No. 1 Rafael Nadal.

If Djokovic were to win the US Open, he will pass Federer and narrow the gap between he and Nadal at least by 600-1000 pts, if not more, heading into the fall season when the Spaniard often struggles.

Federer is also in the same situation as Djokovic, though the Swiss is likely not to play as much as Djokovic the last few months, although he could change things up if he close to the No. 1.

But If Nadal wins the US Open, he’ll be tough to pass down the stretch.

Alexander Zverev and former champions Juan Martin del Potro and Marin Cilic could also get into the No. 1 hunt but they’ll need to be playing on the final Sunday in New York.

“I think it will be a very exciting end to the season, because everybody’s going to probably be healthy or healthier again,” Federer said. “It’s nice to see Novak come back, and Milos has been playing great tennis again. Stan seems solid again. Same with Nishikori. These are all guys that we were missing for the last nine months or so.”

It’s also amazing that’s in August 2018, the Big 3 occupy the Top 3 spots in the Race.

Djokovic last ranked No. 1 on November 6, 2016.

ATP RACE STANDINGS (as of August 20, 2018)
1 Rafael Nadal 6760
2 Roger Federer 4620
3 Novak Djokovic 4445
4 Alexander Zverev 4275
5 Juan Martin del Potro 3710
6 Marin Cilic 3455
7 Kevin Anderson 3270
8 Dominic Thiem 3005
9 John Isner 2570
10 Fabio Fognini 1895