TENNIS ALERT: UP THE LADDERS – GLOBAL CHICK’S RANKINGS REVIEW & RECAP 18 MAY

Written by: Global Chick on 18th May 2015

TENNIS ALERT: UP THE LADDERS – GLOBAL CHICK'S RANKINGS REVIEW & RECAP 18 MAY

epa04753434 Swiss Roger Federer serves the ball to Novak Djokovic of Serbia during their final match for the Italian Open tennis tournament at the Foro Italico in Rome, Italy, 17 May 2015. EPA/MAURIZIO BRAMBATTI |

Up The Ladders– Global Chicks Rankings Review & Recap 18 May

What a week that was! Rome brought us gelato, pizza, pasta, all manner of coffee products and the world’s best in their last bit of action before the start of the French Open.

With Top 10 players still in action this week for really really last minute preparation, we take a look at who gained and who lost last week. Of course with the seedings for Roland Garros being determined on this week’s positions, the draw on Friday will be intriguing, and of course we will have plenty of opinion to offer on where the little rotating chips fall!

ATP Rankings 18 May

Novak Djokovic of Serbia returns the ball to Swiss Roger Federer during their final match for the Italian Open tennis tournament at the Foro Italico in Rome, Italy, 17 May 2015. EPA/MAURIZIO BRAMBATTI

Novak Djokovic stretched his lead with a masterful display in a packed stadium in Rome. His passage last week had been turbulent, it is fair to say. He dropped sets here, he dropped sets there, and to be honest, Roger Federer had more than a fighting chance going into the final to chop his unblemished Masters final record for this year.

Djokovic scooped up his fifth title of the year as easily as if he was scooping up some ice-cream to hand us a cone, as he closes in fast on Rafael Nadal’s record haul of 27 Masters titles (he is just three short).

“I was able to find my way through,” Djokovic said, after the match. “Roger put a lot of pressure on my service game at 4-4, but I managed to respond well, to gain those break points, move him around the court, and then I played a couple of great points that gave me the set. When you’re a set up, the momentum is shifting to your side and you start to feel better.”

Having skipped Madrid to rest and recuperate ahead of the one prize that Djokovic desperately wants, it looks like a wise decision, especially as Nadal was bundled out in the quarter-finals. But with the prospect of a 10th Roland Garros title, we can expect the Spaniard to use this week to really focus his confidence and energy, and come back very motivated to deny Djokovic this glittering prize.

Although he looked a little out of gas in his quarter-final against Federer, Berdych claims the World No. 4 slot this week, while Nadal holds on to the No. 7 slot ahead of the French Open seedings.

1. Novak Djokovic

2. Roger Federer

3. Andy Murray

4. Tomas Berdych (+1)

5. Kei Nishikori (+1)

6. Milos Raonic (-2)

7. Rafael Nadal

8. David Ferrer

9. Stan Wawrinka

10. Marin Cilic

11. Grigor Dimitrov

12. Feliciano Lopez (+1)

13. Gilles Simon (-1)

14. Gael Monfils (+1)

15. Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (-1)

16. Kevin Anderson

17. John Isner

18. David Goffin (+2)

19. Tommy Robredo (-1)

20. Roberto Bautista Agut (-1)

WTA Rankings 18 May

Maria Sharapova of Russia returns the ball to Carla Suarez Navarro of Spain during their final match for the Italian Open tennis tournament at the Foro Italico in Rome, Italy, 17 May 2015. EPA/ETTORE FERRARI

At this stage of her career, Maria Sharapova makes a point of saying that she pays scant attention to the rankings, but she can’t escape the fact that her win in Rome puts her at the opposite end of the draw to World No. 1 Serena Williams, as she bids to defend her title in France.

Williams wisely decided that paying attention to a niggling elbow instead of attempting to defend her title might give her a shot of advancing past the second round in Paris this year, and with Simona Halep surprisingly imploding in her semi-final, Sharapova regained the World No. 2 spot in this week’s rankings.

Let’s pause and cheer on the quiet and disarming Carla Suarez Navarro. She snags a career high of No. 8 and she almost got the job done against Sharapova at the weekend. After holding her nerve to take the first set, Suarez Navarro fought back admirably from 1-3 down to 3-all and again from 3-5 to level there too. But where Sharapova excels is lifting her game. Listening to Marina Navratilova before the match, we have to agree that the experience of finding that extra gear comes with winning the big matches. But mark our words – Suarez Navarro is one of our ones to watch in Paris. She had a surprising loss in the opening round in Melbourne, but she does have weapons. Her legs deserted her after some big battles in Rome, but her confidence should be up after that performance on Sunday.

We could dissect the rankings still further, but with the French Open draw to come, we will just hint that this year’s women’s draw feels more open than in previous years. Watch this space!

1. Serena Williams

2. Maria Sharapova (+1)

3. Simona Halep (-2)

4. Petra Kvitova

5. Caroline Wozniacki

6. Eugenie Bouchard

7. Ana Ivanovic

8. Carla Suarez Navarro (+2)

9. Ekaterina Makarova (-1)

10. Andrea Petkovic (-1)

11. Angelique Kerber

12. Karolina Pliskova

13. Lucie Safarova (+1)

14. Agnieszka Radwanska (-1)

15. Venus Williams (+1)

16. Madison Keys (+1)

17. Sara Errani (-2)

18. Svetlana Kuznetsova

19. Elina Svitolina

20. Sabine Lisicki (+2)

Global Chick will be back to pick over the French Open draws, nibbling on a croissant and a nice strong coffee.

NOTES: Thought I’d add a bit of colour and insight into the rankings rather than just a straight list but of course it’s all about the draw on Friday. As everyone is likely to break down the exact brackets I would like to pick the Top Top 4 for sure, and chart their paths to the final and give them a report card for their year so far.

Topics: Atp, global chick, Sports, Tennis News, Wta