Djokovic back at top of ATP rankings; Sabalenka No. 2 in WTA

MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — Novak Djokovic’s Australian Open championship on Monday returned him to a fairly familiar spot: No. 1 in the ATP rankings.

His rise of four places from No. 5 to succeeding Carlos Alcaraz at No. 1 is the biggest jump to the top in the 50-year history of computerized men’s tennis rankings.

“You never know how much time you have left, so of course I cherish and celebrate these moments when I become number 1 and Grand Slam champion again,” said 35-year-old Djokovic after the 6-3 win vs Stefanos Tsitsipas, 7-6(4), 7-6(5) in the final at Melbourne Park on Sunday night, “even more than I might ever have in my career. I don’t take it for granted.”

Aryna Sabalenka’s first Major title propelled her from No. 5 to No. 2 on the career-best WTA rankings, behind only three-time Major champion Iga Swiatek.

Ons Jabeur, a two-time finalist at Slams in 2022, rose from No. 2 to No. 3, followed by No. 4 Jessica Pegula, No. 5 Caroline Garcia and No. 6 Coco Gauff.

The player who beat Sabalenka in Saturday’s Australian Open final, Elena Rybakina, makes her Top 10 debut at No. 10, up from No. 25.

This marks Djokovic’s 374th week at the top of the ATP and adds to his record. He won a 10th Australian Open title and tied Rafael Nadal with 22 Grand Slam trophies.

Alcaraz slipped to second place. He was the youngest man at No. 1 when he took over at the age of 19 after winning the US Open last September. Alcaraz missed the Australian Open with a leg injury.

Nadal, who injured his left hip flexor in a second-round loss to Mackenzie McDonald of the USA, dropped from second to sixth.

Tsitsipas rose from No. 4 to No. 3 because of his run in Melbourne; he would have been number 1 for the first time if he had managed to win the title. Casper Ruud, a two-time Grand Slam runner-up who lost to Jenson Brooksby of the United States in the second round, moved up from 3rd to 4th. Andrey Rublev is 5th after reaching the quarterfinals.

Tommy Paul, a 25-year-old American cracking the top 20 for the first time, reached his first Grand Slam semifinal before being eliminated by Djokovic. Paul’s performance in Melbourne took him up 16 spots from 25th to 19th.

He is one of 10 US men in the top 50, which was last done in 1995.

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AP Tennis: https://apnews.com/hub/tennis and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

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