ATP Rankings flashback: Who was No 1 exactly 10 years ago? Where did the Big Four rank?
Novak Djokovic currently leads the ATP Rankings, but how did the top 20 list look at the same stage of the season 10 years ago?
Tennis great Djokovic started his 395th week at No 1 in the world on Monday, but back in 2013 he wasn’t top of the list as that honour went to fellow Big Three rival Rafael Nadal.
To be fair to Djokovic, he enjoyed a brilliant campaign 10 years ago but Nadal was just a step ahead as the Spaniard went on to finish the campaign as the year-end No 1.
The 2013 season does rank as one of Nadal’s greatest years in professional tennis as he won 10 titles, including the French Open and US Open, and it was his North American hard-court swing that helped him to usurp Djokovic in the rankings as he also won the Cincinnati Masters.
Nadal currently sits at No 243 in the current ATP Rankings after he missed the bulk of the 2023 season due to injury and it remains to be seen when he will return to action.
Back to the 2013 season, Djokovic won seven titles with the Australian Open and ATP Finals his biggest trophies while he also finished runner-up at Wimbledon and the US Open.
Nadal, though, edged him in the rankings as he was on 13,030 points on October 14, 2013, with Djokovic 770 points behind and David Ferrer a distant third with Andy Murray not too far behind the Spaniard.
Murray himself had a good season as he ended Great Britain’s long wait for a men’s singles champion at Wimbledon as he became the first British man since Fred Perry in 1936 to win the trophy at SW19. He also finished runner-up to Djokovic at the Australian Open.
Argentine legend Juan Martin del Potro had another injury-disrupted season with Roger Federer down in sixth as he also had some injury woes.
Federer won only one title in 2013 – the Gerry Weber Open – and failed to reach any of the Grand Slam finals as he struggled with a back injury.
Of the other players in the top 20, only Stan Wawrinka (8), Richard Gasquet (9), Milos Raonic (11), Fabio Fognini (17), Kei Nishikori (18) and Kevin Anderson (20) are still active. Anderson, of course, made a comeback in July having previously retired in May 2022.
Top 20 in the ATP Rankings on October 14, 2013
1. Rafael Nadal Spain – 13,030 points
2. Novak Djokovic Serbia – 12,260
3. David Ferrer Spain – 5,800
4. Andy Murray Great Britain 5,790
5. Juan Martin Del Potro Argentina – 5,255
6. Roger Federer Switzerland – 4,205
7. Tomas Berdych Czech Republic – 4,180
8. Stan Wawrinka Switzerland – 3,730
9. Richard Gasquet France – 3,300
10. Jo-Wilfried Tsonga France – 3,065
11. Milos Raonic Canada – 2,860
12. Tommy Haas Tommy Germany – 2,265
13. Nicolas Almagro Spain – 2,200
14. John Isner USA – 2,070
15. Jerzy Janowicz Poland 2,060
16. Gilles Simon France – 2,060
17. Fabio Fognini Italy – 1,965
18. Kei Nishikori Japan – 1,885
19. Tommy Robredo Spain – 1830
20. Kevin Anderson RSA – 1,775
