Novak Djokovic regains No.1 ATP ranking; Taylor Fritz biggest mover

New York, March 22 (IANS): Serbian tennis stalwart Novak Djokovic has wrested back his world No.1 spot on the ATP Rankings from Russia’s Daniil Medvedev — who slipped to No. 2 –, even as American Taylor Fritz is the top mover this week, climbing seven spots to a career-high No. 13 following his maiden Indian Wells title triumph on Sunday.

The 24-year-old Fritz jumped into the top-15 of the ATP Rankings for the first time after he captured his maiden ATP Masters 1000 title at the BNP Paribas Open, defeating Spanish stalwart Rafael Nadal in the final.

Fritz became the first American man to lift the trophy in Indian Wells since Andre Agassi in 2001. It is the second time he has triumphed after a tour-level event, following his victory in Eastbourne in 2019, according to atptour.com.

Nadal, the winner of a 21 Grand Slams, too moved up a spot after he made it to the title round at Indian Wells. The 35-year-old, who clinched the crown in Indian Wells in 2007, 2009 and 2013, earned hard-fought wins against Australian Nick Kyrgios and countryman Carlos Alcaraz to improve to 20-1 this season.

Teenager Alcaraz too hit a career high of No. 16 on the ATP Rankings, with the 18-year-old moving up three sports. The Spaniard defeated top-20 stars Roberto Bautista Agut, Frenchman Gael Monfils and Great Britain’s Cameron Norrie in straight sets in Indian Wells as he advanced to the semifinals at a Masters 1000 tournament for the first time.

The other notable movers this week are, No. 10 Hubert Hurkacz, (plus-1), No. 24 Gael Monfils (plus-4), No. 28 Alex de Minaur (plus-3) and No. 29 Grigor Dimitrov (plus-6).