A Rankings Shake-Up in Men’s Tennis

After the men’s singles event at the Australian Open notable for Roger Federer’s dominance and Rafael Nadal’s knees, the new rankings that came out Monday reflected both story lines.

After retiring during a quarterfinal match against Andy Murray because of a knee injury, Nadal fell to No. 4 from No. 2, his lowest ranking since May 2005. Nadal is expected to miss at least month because of a tear in his right knee.

Novak Djokovic, who lost in the quarterfinals to Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, rose to No. 2 from No. 3, his highest ranking ever. He is followed by Andy Murray, the Australian Open runner-up.

With his victory in Melbourne, Federer secured his No. 1 position. It is his 268th week in the top spot, tying Jimmy Connors for third place in total weeks at No. 1. Federer will soon pass Ivan Lendl, who was No. 1 for 270 weeks. Pete Sampras holds the record with 286 weeks at No. 1.

ATP Tour Rankings
1. (1) Roger Federer, 11,350 points
2. (3) Novak Djokovic, 8,310
3. (4) Andy Murray, 7,800
4. (2) Rafael Nadal, 7,670
5. (5) Juan Martin del Potro, 6,400
6. (6) Nikolay Davydenko, 5,290
7. (7) Andy Roddick, 4,150
8. (8) Robin Soderling, 3, 375
9. (10) Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, 3,235
10. (14) Marin Cilic, 2,970

On the women’s side, the Australian Open champion, Serena Williams, maintained her grip on the No. 1 ranking. Li Na, who with Zheng Jie became the first Chinese players to reach the Australian Open semifinals, soared to 10th from 17th. She is the first Chinese player to reach the top 10.

Sony Ericsson WTA Tour Rankings
1. (1) Serena Williams, 9,195 points
2. (2) Dinara Safina, 6,480
3. (4) Caroline Wozniacki, 5,995
4. (3) Svetlana Kuznetsova, 5,861
5. (6) Venus Williams, 5,526
6. (7) Victoria Azarenka, 4,960
7. (5) Elena Dementieva, 4,705
8. (8) Jelena Jankovic, 3,845
9. (10) Agnieszka Radwanska, 3,605
10. (17) Li Na, 3,500