Sports Then and Now

Though he is not near Roger Federer in the ATP Tour rankings, Sam Querry's recent performance puts him ahead of Federer in the weekly power rankings.

With the exception of Novak Djokovic, the ATP top five has not competed since the conclusion of the Australian Open. Since then, there have been two ATP 500 events, which shook up the power rankings quite a bit. With Roger Federer and Andy Murray back in action in Dubai, there will definitely be more drama in coming weeks. But first,
here is this week’s list.

The Top 10

1. Sam Querrey (Last Power Ranking: NR; ATP Ranking: 22)
Last Four Tournaments: Memphis [Winner]; San Jose [Semifinalist]; Australian Open [R128]; Sydney [R32]
Power Ranking Points: 548

With his title run in Memphis and a semifinal effort in San Jose, Querrey accumulated just enough power ranking points to edge Federer as this week’s top dog.

Though unranked in the last installment, this is not the debut of Querrey on the power rankings. He had a very successful several weeks last summer and won the US Open Series, so it is not surprising that he is doing well again on home soil.

He plays in Acapulco this week, where he will clash with the No. 2 seed Fernando Gonzalez in the first round. If not too tired, he should provide a stern test for Gonzo.

2. Roger Federer (Last Power Ranking: 1; ATP Ranking: 1)
Last Four Tournaments: Australian Open [Winner]; Doha [Semifinalist]; London [Semifinalist]; Paris [R64]
Power Ranking Points: 544

Ok, Federer at No. 2, not a very familiar position for the tennis ace. But, this is mainly due to his inactivity in the past three weeks. Should he perform well in Dubai this week, he has a good chance to get back where he belongs.

With the extreme calm and confidence he showed in Australia, Federer seems to have regained that “invincibility” aura, which should be a worrisome sign to all the other top guns.

This past Monday, Federer passed Ivan Lendl on the “most weeks as ATP No. 1” list. Next up, Pete Sampras’ 286 weeks. If Federer can retain his No. 1 ranking through Roland Garros, then he will pass Sampras’ mark before Wimbledon.

3. John Isner (Last Power Ranking: OLI; ATP Ranking: 21)
Last Four Tournaments: Memphis [Finalist]; Australian Open [R16]; Auckland [Winner]; Paris [R32]
Power Ranking Points: 393

Isner has showed some fine form this season, winning in Auckland in the Australia swing, and last week finishing as runner-up to Querrey in Memphis. He then teamed up with Querrey to win the doubles title. These should be all good signs for the US Davis Cup team, as Isner and Querrey will both represent US in their tie against Serbia in less than two weeks.

John Isner

Isner is also playing in Acapulco this week, where he is the No. 5 seed and in the same quarter with Querrey. The final in Memphis between these two was their first meeting on the tour, and their second one could very well be in this week.

So, you get the impression that Isner and Querrey are inseparable these days. And that is indeed the case, ranking No. 21 and 22 respectively on the tour this week.

4. Juan Carlos Ferrero (Last Power Ranking: NR; ATP Ranking: 16)
Last Four Tournaments: Buenos Aires [Winner]; Costa Do Sauipe
[Winner]; Australian Open [R128]; Auckland [R32]
Power Ranking Points: 378

Who is the current “king of clay”? The answer is: Juan Carlos Ferrero.

The red-hot Spaniard won two clay-court titles in as many weeks. That is more than the number of titles he won in the last six years!

He will play in Acapulco this week, another clay-court event. Will he be able to make it three-in-a-row? Fitness may be the key.

5. Andy Murray (Last Power Ranking: 2; ATP Ranking: 4)
Last Four Tournaments: Australian Open [Finalist]; London [RR]; Paris [R16]; Valencia [Winner]
Power Ranking Points: 371

Murray showed some worrying signs in the Australian Open final, both physically and mentally. But he appears to be ready to go this week in Dubai, where he is the No. 3 seed. Should the seedings hold up, he will face off with Federer in the semifinals.

Murray, Novak Djokovic, and Rafael Nadal are virtually tied for the ATP No. 2 spot, each with between 7000 and 8000 points. With Nadal out this week, Murray can regain the ATP No. 3 ranking should he reach the semis in Dubai.

6. Nikolay Davydenko (Last Power Ranking: 5; ATP Ranking: 6)
Last Four Tournaments: Rotterdam [Semifinalist]; Australian Open [Quarterfinalist]; Doha [Winner]; London [Winner]
Power Ranking Points: 316

Davydenko’s impressive winning streak from the end of last season came to an abrupt halt when he faced his old foe Federer at the Australian Open. With a one-set lead in their quarterfinal match, Davydenko somehow managed to lose 13 games in a row and folded pretty quickly after that.

Many started to talk about his chance of winning a Grand Slam before the Australian Open, but now it does not appear the Russian has that winner’s mentality in Grand Slams.

However, when it comes to three-set format tournaments, Davydenko is always dangerous.

As the No. 4 seed in Dubai, he could face Djokovic or Tsonga in the semifinals. Since he did not play during this period last year due to injuries, Davydenko could gain tons of points should he perform well before the clay-court season.

Currently there are about 1000 points separating him and the ATP No. 5 Juan Martin Del Potro.

7. Marin Cilic (Last Power Ranking: 3; ATP Ranking: 9)
Last Four Tournaments: Zagreb [Winner]; Australian Open
[Semifinalist]; Chennai [Winner]; Paris [Quarterfinalist]
Power Ranking Points: 312

With his victory in Zagreb, Cilic became the first multiple-titlist in the 2010 season. And with his breakthrough performance in the Australian Open, this year promises to be an outstanding season for the tall Croatian.

Cilic is the No. 6 seed in Dubai, in the same quarter with Federer.

He is currently enjoying a career high ATP ranking of No. 9. With no major points to defend till the US Open, look for him to climb even higher in the coming months.

8. Robin Soderling (Last Power Ranking: NR; ATP Ranking: 7)
Last Four Tournaments: Marseille [Quarterfinalist]; Rotterdam
[Winner]; Australian Open [R128]; Chennai [R32]
Power Ranking Points: 298

Another man enjoying a career high ATP ranking is Robin Soderling, who sits at No. 7 this week, thanks to his title run in Rotterdam.

The biggest problem for the free-swinging Swede is his consistency, which makes his ATP top 10 status a little shaky. On the ATP website, about 56 percent of voters say he will qualify for the World Tour Final this season. For him to get to London, first-round losses at Grand Slams are not acceptable.

9. Andy Roddick (Last Power Ranking: 8; ATP Ranking: 8)
Last Four Tournaments: Memphis [Quarterfinalist]; San Jose [Finalist]; Australian Open [Quarterfinalist]; Brisbane [Winner]
Power Ranking Points: 291

Andy Roddick

As has been for a long time, the performance of Roddick is solid, but not superb. No one questions his motivation since he wants to win another Grand Slam badly. But whether he has the game to win another Slam is a different story.

He has been trying to add more variety to his game since the beginning of last season, but one gets the feeling that he is still falling behind, as his ATP ranking shows.

Roddick is taking a breather after playing for two consecutive weeks.

10. Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (Last Power Ranking: 4; ATP Ranking: 11)
Last Four Tournaments: Marseille [Semifinalist]; Australian Open
[Semifinalist]; Paris [Quarterfinalist]; Valencia [R32]
Power Ranking Points: 283

Failing to defend his title in Marseille, Tsonga slipped out of ATP top 10 this week, managed to stay in the power rankings top 10 with one more point than Djokovic.

He was able to avenge his loss in the 2008 Australian Open final against Djokovic this year with a quarterfinal victory over the Serb, but then was soundly beaten by Federer. Such a loss might hurt his confidence in future tournaments.

He accepted a wild card in Dubai and is in the same quarter as Djokovic. In the first-round, he will face Michael Llodra, the new Marseille champion.

Outside Looking In

Novak Djokovic (Last Power Ranking: 6; ATP Ranking: 2)
Power Ranking Points: 282

Though Djokovic is also enjoying a career high ATP ranking of No. 2, his performance of late is not on par with his ranking. Trailing Federer by about 3500 points and more points to defend before Roland Garros, it is unlikely that he can get to ATP No. 1 in the short future.

Mikhail Youzhny (Last Power Ranking: NR; ATP Ranking: 15)
Power Ranking Points: 193

Youzhny beat the man above him in the Rotterdam semifinals, but was forced to retire due to injury in his final match against Soderling.

With last week off, it appears he is fit to play in Dubai, where he is seeded at No. 7, in the same quarter as Murray.

Author’s Note

Ever since Nadal’s withdrawal from Wimbledon last year, “injury” has been a key word on the ATP tour. For instance, an alarming number of players retired during their matches at Shanghai Masters last season.

Nadal retired in his match against Murray in the Australian Open, citing another knee injury. Del Potro is still nursing his wrist injury. Nalbandian had two new injuries in the first two months of the season when trying to come back from his hip surgery last May. Hewitt had another surgery to his hip.

We would like to wish all the injured players a full and quick recovery.