ATP: Monfil's third in the race, Djokovic leads Thiem
With his second tournament victory in a row, Gael Monfils has put himself in an excellent position in the ATP annual ranking: The Frenchman is in third place behind Novak Djokovic and Dominic Thiem .
by Robin Huiber
last edit: Feb 17, 2020, 08:42 am
Victory in Montpellier, title defense in Rotterdam: Gael Monfils´ excellent work during the last two weeks of the tournament was rewarded with 750 points. In the ATP world rankings, this still means ninth, but in the annual ranking, the "Race to London", Monfils is already third. The top eight players qualify for the annual finals in London, in 2019 the Frenchman was there as the second substitute after Roberto Bautista Agut.
Novak Djokovic is the undisputed leader, having also taken the 2,000 points for his success at the Australian Open after his successes in the ATP Cup. Basically, the Serb could already stop playing - the place at the last final tournament in the O2 Arena with 2,665 points will no longer be available.
Thiem can catch up in Rio
Dominic Thiem follows with a gap of respect - but could move closer to the leaders this week in Rio de Janeiro. 500 points are awarded in the Brazilian metropolis, 250 each in Marseille and in Delray Beach. For Thiem there is also a prospect of a new career high in the "regular" ATP world rankings: if he only reached the semi-finals, he would replace Roger Federer from third place - Thiem would get 180 points, the 90 from Hamburg fell out of the ranking.
Andrey Rublev continues to collect points, the Russian is fourth despite losing to Filip Krajinovic, followed by Alexander Zverev and Roger Federer, both of whom bring their semi-finals to the Australian Open and thus 720 points. If Monday were cut-off day, Rafael Nadal and Diego Schwartzman would complement the field for London.