Big Three's top-two absence a long time coming

None of the so-called Big Three of men's tennis－Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic－was in the No 1 or No 2 spots in the ATP rankings on Monday, the first time that's been the case in nearly 20 years.

Daniil Medvedev rose one place to return to No 1, where he briefly spent time earlier this season, and Alexander Zverev moved up to a career-best No 2.

Djokovic slid from No 1 to No 3, because his points for winning the French Open in 2021 dropped off his record on Monday. The ATP rankings are based on a player's top 18 tournament results over the preceding 52 weeks (19 if he participated in the ATP Tour Finals).

There was not nearly as much shifting in the WTA rankings on Monday, with Iga Swiatek remaining at No 1. The only change in the women's top 20 was Aryna Sabalenka's move from No 6 to No 5, switching with Maria Sakkari.

Last year's French Open was delayed a week from its originally scheduled spot on the calendar because of concerns about COVID-19, so points earned from that event are falling off only now, while this year's French Open points were added last week, because the final was June 5.

At Roland Garros this year, Djokovic's title defense ended with a quarterfinal loss to Nadal, who wound up earning his 14th championship at Roland Garros－and 22nd career Grand Slam trophy.

Nadal remained at No 4. Even though he has won the season's first two majors, he missed most of the last half of 2021 and part of this year, too, so he only has 10 tournaments on his 52-week record.

French Open runner-up Casper Ruud went up one spot to a career-high No 5.

Federer had a series of knee operations and hasn't played anywhere since Wimbledon last July. He only has points from four tournaments left on his record and is ranked 68th this week.

Federer was at No 3, behind No 1 Andy Roddick and No 2 Juan Carlos Ferrero, the week of Nov 10,2003, with Nadal outside the top 40 and Djokovic outside the top 500. A week later, Federer rose to No 2.

Medvedev first reached No 1 in February, replacing Djokovic there for three weeks, and now returns following a runner-up finish at a tournament in the Netherlands.

Neither he nor Zverev will be at Wimbledon, however. Medvedev is Russian, and the All England Club banned all players from there and Belarus because of the conflict in Ukraine. Zverev will sit out the grass-court Grand Slam after having surgery for torn ligaments in his right ankle due to an injury sustained at Roland Garros.

Agencies via Xinhua