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Power Rankings: Murray jumps to No. 2 over Federer after Melbourne run
Welcome to SI Tennis’ Power Rankings – a new recurring feature on SI.com that goes beyond the regular ATP and WTA rankings to grade and rank the top 20 men's and women's players by more than just points earned on tour. While tournament results and quality of play are considered, SI Tennis’ Power Rankings also take into account those unquantifiable metrics that make the sport so compelling—everything from injuries and meltdowns to big upsets and recent title wins, as well as other subjective assessments. Each edition of SI Tennis Power Rankings is intended to capture a more seasonal and timely portrait of the current tennis rankings.
Check out our first edition here and the newest ATP Power Rankings below!
1. Novak Djokovic
Previous Power Ranking: 1
His hard court dominance doesn’t stop in Melbourne, where he won his fifth Australian Open title. Given his form, he could easily run the table at the upcoming hard court events in Dubai, Indian Wells, and Miami.
2. ANDY MURRAY
Previous Power Ranking: 6
No one wants his or her last memory of a tournament to be a 6-0 bagel set, but it was a fantastic two weeks in Melbourne for Murray, who made his first Slam final since winning Wimbledon in 2013. Up until the very end, he showed his best form in over a year. Lots to build on for the season.
3.
Was it just a bad day when he lost in four sets to Andreas Seppi in the third round? Possibly. Federer came into Melbourne playing great tennis after winning Brisbane, though he did complain of fatigue after a short and grueling off-season. His performance over the next two months will be telling.
4. Stan Wawrinka
Previous Power Ranking: 3
No, he didn’t defend his Australian Open title, but he played some sublime tennis to make the semifinals and then took Djokovic to five sets. Worrisome: He's already complaining of mental fatigue and “dead batteries.”
5. Tomas berdych
Previous Power Ranking: 11
I’m not convinced Berdych’s run to the Australian Open semifinals was a sign of “Berdych 2.0.” Nadal wasn’t his usual self in their quarterfinal showdown and once again, Berdych got mentally bullied when facing a Big Four guy, this time collapsing to Murray. But he has started his season with an ATP final and Slam semifinal. Strong start.
6. Rafael Nadal
Previous Power Ranking: 4
There were good matches, there were bad matches and there were weird matches. But overall, Nadal’s quarterfinal run in Melbourne was positive. He just needs time on the court and he's now headed to South America for the spring clay season. A title there will set him up nicely for the rest of the hard court/clay season.
7. Milos raonic
Previous Power Ranking: 5
He was picked apart once again by Djokovic after making his first Australian Open quarterfinal. But I still can’t forget his revelatory performance in the Brisbane final against Federer.
8. Kei Nishikori
Previous Power Ranking: 8
His straight set loss to Wawrinka in the quarterfinals was disappointing. If that missed forehand drop shot in the third set tiebreaker isn’t haunting his dreams it’s because it’s haunting mine.
9. David Ferrer
Previous Power Ranking: 7
On the whole, it was a good start to the season for the Spaniard, after a title in Doha and a run to the fourth round in Melbourne, where he lost in straight sets to Nishikori. Plus, he won a match with a bloody sock, so let’s add that to the Ferrer mythology.
10. Grigor Dimitrov
Previous Power Ranking:10
He played superbly against Murray and still lost in four sets, brutally collapsing in the last five games. Again, we’re still waiting to see more from Dimitrov.
11. Feliciano lopez
Previous Power Ranking: 19
Lopez had a shot at making the quarterfinals in Melbourne, taking Raonic to five sets before losing 6-3 in the final frame. He continues to play some of his best tennis at the age of 33.
12. Kevin anderson
Previous Power Ranking: 15
A good run to the fourth round in Melbourne followed a semifinal in Auckland. Could this be the year Anderson breaks into the Top 10? He has the serve to do it and came close to taking the first set from Nadal in Melbourne.
13. Viktor Troicki
Previous Power Ranking: Out of Top 20
The Serb is playing Top 20 tennis these days. A week after winning the title in Sydney, he made the third round in Melbourne, where he lost to Berdych.
14. Gael Monfils
Previous Power Ranking: 9
Tough draw for Monfils in Melbourne, where he lost to Jerzy Janowicz in five hard-fought sets. he’s always a wildcard and never a sure bet, but we’re not ready to write him off just yet.
15. nick Kyrgios
Previous Power Ranking: Out of Top 20
Two things are impossible to ignore with Kyrgios: He has made the quarterfinals of two of the last three majors, and he is the only teenager to make multiple major quarterfinals since Federer. He has also won just one ATP Tour level match in his career. In other words, we’ve seen what he’s capable of on any given day. But he’s an unproven commodity on the daily grind of the tour and his body isn’t exactly holding up well. We’ll see what happens in Indian Wells and Miami.
16. Ernests Gulbis
Previous Power Ranking: 17
The Latvian has never played well in Australia. This time he succumbed to the raucous atmosphere surrounding his first-round encounter with Thanasi Kokkinakis. If Gulbis wins that match (he lost 8-6 in the fifth) I really like his chances to reach the second week.
17. John Isner
Previous Power Ranking: 18
HIs straight-set loss to Gilles Muller in the third round in Melbourne was a racket-busting nightmare. But the North American hard court season should be exactly what he needs to start his season.
18. David goffin
Previous Power Ranking: 12
His second-round loss in Melbourne was disappointing—he got bageled in the final set by Marcos Baghdatis.
19. Ivo Karlovic
Previous Power Ranking: 14
After upending Djokovic in Doha, Karlovic had a disappointing showing in Melbourne, losing in the second round to Kyrgios. As the No. 1 seed in Zagreb, he lost to Baghdatis this week after winning the first set 6-3.
20. Marin Cilic
Previous Power Ranking: 20
We’re holding him here despite his skipping the Australian Open and pulling out of the Zagreb Indoors due to injury.
Contributor, SI.com Nguyen is a freelance writer for SI.com, providing full coverage of professional tennis both on and off the court. Her content has become a must-read for fans and insiders to stay up-to-date with a sport that rarely rests. She has appeared on radio and TV talk shows all over the world and is one of the co-hosts of No Challenges Remaining, a weekly podcast available on iTunes. Nguyen graduated from the University of California, Irvine in 1999 and received a law degree from the University of California, Davis in 2002. She lives in the Bay Area.