Cilic Continues Rankings Rise

Marin Cilic continued his fine run of form with his second title in three weeks as he claimed victory at Delray Beach. The Croat added this victory to his Zagreb title two weeks ago and a runner's up spot in Rotterdam last week to rise four places in the rankings to 25. Cilic will be looking to push back into the top 20 following a disappointing second half of last year.

Elsewhere Ernest Gulbis rose to a career high eighteenth following victory in Marseilles this weekend. Gulbis claimed his fifth ATP title with a 7-6(5) 6-4 victory over local favourite Jo-Wilfried Tsonga who did not move this week.

In fact it was a quiet week at the top of the men's rankings with no movement inside the top ten. Kei Nishikori was a big loser though, dropping five places to twentieth whilst a strong showing from Pablo Andujar reaching the Rio Open semi-final sees him rise six places to 34th. Andy Murray will be wary of Andujar's form after being drawn against him in the opening  round of this week's tournament in Acapulco.

A first round appearance in Marseilles pushed promising young Brit Kyle Edmund into the top 300, whilst it was a quiet week elsewhere for the British boys. The girls also had a quiet week with neither Laura Robson or Heather Watson taking part in any competitions. Nor will they be playing this week as Robson continues to recover from a wrist injury whilst Watson retired in a qualifying match in Brasil.

The women's rankings saw more change at the top than the men. Despite losing in the first round to Ana Ivanovic, Angelique Kerber rose two places to 6th whilst Simona Halep followed her in rising two places to 7th. Petra Kvitova's lack of action meant she dropped from 6th to 9th whilst a quarter-final showing from Jelena Jankovic was not enough as she fell one place to eighth.

The Dubai champion, Venus Williams celebrated a fantastic week with a fifteen place rise to move back inside the top 30 at 29th; only her second WTA title in four years. The other big mover inside the top 100 was the Japanese first seed, Kurumi Nara. Her maiden WTA victory in the Rio Open catapulting her fourteen places to 48th.

Published on SEaT Capital.

Li Na Breaks Rankings Record

By moving up to second in the world, Li Na has become the highest ever ranked Asian player after rising above Victoria Azarenka. Despite only reaching the third round in Doha, Azarenka's absence meant that Na was guaranteed to move into second before the tournament had even started.

Agnieszka Radwanska also rose above Azarenka into third after a strong tournament in Doha, reaching the semi-final. Doha champion Simona Halep rose just one place to ninth whilst beaten finalist Angelique Kerber also rose one to eighth. The other semi-finalist Jelena Jankovic rose to seventh as Sara Errani dropped three places to tenth.

One of the biggest movers this week was Britain's Heather Watson who moved up 39 places to 122nd after claiming the Midland title. Yanina Wickmayer also moved up 14 places to 58th after a strong quarter-final showing in Doha.

In the men's draw, David Ferrer's victory in Buenos Aires combined with Juan Martin Del Potro's poor display in Rotterdam meant that Ferrer moves above Del Potro to fourth in the World. Tomas Berdych ended his 16 month barren run by winning the Rotterdam title, moving him above Andy Murray to sixth as Murray slips to seventh, his lowest position for six years.

Promising youngster Kei Nishikori continued to move towards the top 10, successfully defending his Memphis title and moving up to fifteenth. The largest mover in the top 50 was Marin Cilic who continued his fine run of form by reaching the Rotterdam final, moving him up eight places to 29th.

Big serving Croat Ivo Karlovic was the biggest mover in the top 100 after reaching the final in Memphis, ascending 24 places to 56th. However, it was a poor week for Julien Benneteau as he fell 28 places to 67th in the world.

Published on SEaT Capital.