This is a new feature in which I will combine the overall flow of the ATP Tour for the past 52 weeks with recent trends to arrive at my own current rankings. Tomorrow, I will have another Youtube Tennis entry up and my GOAT series will resume this week as well. Much like college basketball has the RPI as well as human polls, I would treat this like my ballot for a press based poll.
Dan Martin’s 2012 Power Rankings
for the Week of February 26 through March 3
1. Novak Djokovic – With all of the precincts reporting Novak Djokovic is in clear command of the ATP Tour.
2. Rafael Nadal – An Australian Open runner-up finish has Nadal holding #2 for now, but a Murray or Federer title in Dubai might tilt against Rafa.
3. Andy Murray – My first deviation from the ATP rankings. Murray like Federer has a 250 point title and an Australian Open semifinal loss, but Murray showed strides down under so he’s #3 for now.
4. Roger Federer – The title in Rotterdam must make Roger wish there were more important indoor events a la the 1990′s. Fed’s Davis Cup performance vs. the US has placed Federer below Murray for now.
5. David Ferrer – A title in Argentina over a strong Nicolas Almagro confirms Ferrer’s ATP computer ranking.
6. Juan Martin del Potro – Delpo has a title, a runner-up finish and a Grand Slam quarterfinal to his name. Lost in his one-sided loss to Federer down under was that Delpo had reached his first quarter at a major since 2009. Brick by brick he is rebuilding.
7. Nicolas Almagro – Almagro has a title and a runner-up finish over the past two weeks. He is the third best player from Spain, but that is saying something.
8. J0-Wilfried Tsonga – Tsonga won Qatar and was a semifinalist this week. A better Aussie Open would have been nice, but Tsonga is still clearly in the tier just below the top four.
9. Tomas Berdych – He still owes Almagro a handshake, but he has played solidly well in 2012 as well as in late 2011.
10. Milos Raonic – Raonic came up short in the Memphis final again. He still has work to do, but his serve gives him a credible weapon around which to build the rest of his game. Two titles and one runner-up showing in 2012 earn Raonic a top 10 slot.
Tags: Novak Djokovic, Tennis Rankings
