Nick Kyrgios soars up ATP rankings following remarkable run to Mexican Open title

James Pavey

Nick Kyrgios soars up ATP rankings following remarkable run to Mexican Open title image

Nick Kyrgios has soared up the ATP rankings following his brilliant run to the Abierto Mexicano Telcel title in Acapulco last week.

The Australian entered the tournament ranked 72nd in the world, but a terrific run to the crown saw Kyrgios more than halve his ranking to No. 33.

In his run to his fifth ATP title, Kyrgios took down both top seeds - Rafael Nadal in the second round and Alexander Zverev in the final - as well as Andreas Seppi, Stan Wawrinka and third seed John Isner.

The 23-year-old is still some way off from reaching his career-high ranking of No. 13, achieved in October 2016, but he is now on the cusp of earning seedings for major tournaments - something he didn't have for January's Australian Open, which he entered ranked No. 52.

MORE: Federer to play in 2020, halts retirement speculationWho are the oldest tennis world number ones?

Regardless, getting himself out of trouble on numerous occasions in Acapulco proved to Kyrgios that anything's possible.

Countryman Alex de Minaur also rose to a career-high No. 24 after reaching the quarters in Acapulco, and retained his spot as Australia's highest-ranked men's player.

Former No. 33 John Millman also rose two places to No. 42.

Roger Federer's 100th career title also helped him leapfrog Juan Martin del Potro, Kevin Anderson and Kei Nishikori into No. 4.

Federer brought up the ton at the Dubai Tennis Championships, with the Swiss veteran taking down Australian Open conqueror Stefanos Tsitsipas in straight sets.

Tsitsipas, though, broke into the top 10 for the first time, moving above Marin Cilic and dethroning Zverev as the youngest player in the top 10.

The 20-year-old also made history in becoming the first Greek player to break into the top 10.

The upcoming BNP Paribas Open is also set to throw the cat among the pigeons, with a star-studded field to take on Indian Wells in the quest for a crucial Masters 1000 title.


There were also rankings rises for young Aussies Alex Bolt, Max Purcell and Andrew Harris.

Bolt rose nine places to No. 125 after reaching the quarters at the Indian Wells Challenger, while Purcell (No. 266) and Harris (No. 301) rose eight and 28 places respectively after impressing at the Yokohama Challenger.

ATP RANKINGS (5/3/2019) 

TOP 10 & AUSTRALIANS IN TOP 100

RANK MOVE PLAYER NAT AGE POINTS
1   Novak Djokovic SRB 31 10955
2   Rafael Nadal ESP 32 8365
3   Alexander Zverev DEU 21 6595
4 +1 Roger Federer SUI 37 4600
5 -1 Juan Martin Del Potro ARG 30 4585
6 -1 Kevin Anderson RSA 32 4295
7 -1 Kei Nishikori JAP 29 4190
8   Dominic Thiem AUT 25 3800
9   John Isner  USA 33 3405
10 +1 Stefanos Tsitsipas GRE 20 3175
24 +2 Alex de Minaur AUS 20 1508
33 +39 Nick Kyrgios AUS 23 1205
42 +2 John Millman AUS 29 1091
49 -2 Matthew Ebden AUS 31 956
77 +2 Jordan Thompson AUS 24 703
82 +1 Bernard Tomic AUS 26 679

James Pavey

James Pavey Photo