NEW YORK, Sep 9: US Open men’s runner-up Taylor Fritz returned to the top 10 in the ATP rankings at No. 7 on Monday, and women’s runner-up Jessica Pegula rose to No. 3 in the WTA list, while semi-finalist Emma Navarro climbed to a career-best No. 8.
Men’s champion Jannik Sinner nearly doubled his lead as the ATP’s No. 1 — a spot he’s held since June — a day after defeating Fritz 6-3, 6-4, 7-5, and women’s champion Aryna Sabalenka stayed at No. 2 in the WTA behind Iga Swiatek, who lost to Pegula in the quarter-finals.
“I mean, I’m not trying to focus on ranking, to be honest. Not like I’m checking where I’m going to be after the tournament,” Sabalenka said Saturday after her 7-5, 7-5 victory over Pegula in the final.
“I’m just trying to focus on myself, and I know that if (at) each tournament I’ll be able to play my best tennis … I’ll be able to become world No. 1 again. So, my focus is on myself, on improving myself as a player and as a person. Hopefully, one day, I’ll see myself (back) on the top of the ranking.”
Sabalenka briefly supplanted Swiatek at No. 1 after finishing as the runner-up to Coco Gauff at last year’s US Open. Sabalenka is the only woman to collect more than one Grand Slam title in 2024; she won the Australian Open in January.
Last year’s champions at Flushing Meadows both dropped Monday: Gauff went from No. 3 to No. 6 after being eliminated in the fourth round by Navarro, and Novak Djokovic slid from No. 2 to No. 4 after he was beaten in the third round by Alexei Popyrin.
Alexander Zverev is the new men’s No. 2, followed by Carlos Alcaraz at No. 3, with Daniil Medvedev remaining at No. 5 and Andrey Rublev staying at No. 6 ahead of Fritz, who moved up five spots after becoming the first American man to reach a major final in 15 years.
Jack Draper, a 22-year-old from Britain, went from No. 25 to a career-best No. 20 thanks to his run to his first Slam semi-final appearance.
After Swiatek, Sabalenka and Pegula, who went up three places to equal her career high, No. 4 Elena Rybakina and No. 5 Jasmine Paolini held their rankings.
Olympic gold medalist Zheng Qinwen stayed at No. 7, with Navarro next after going up from No. 13 with her best showing at a major tournament. (PTI)
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