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Roger Federer Reclaims World No. 1 Ranking Despite Time Off

By Harry Floyd

KEY BISCAYNE, FL - MARCH 24: (Note to Editor: This digital image has been converted to black and white) Roger Federer of Switzerland reacts to a lost point against Thanasi Kokkinakis of Australia during his loss on Day 6 of the Miami Open at the Crandon Park Tennis Center on March 24, 2018 in Key Biscayne, Florida. (Photo by Al Bello/Getty Images)
KEY BISCAYNE, FL - MARCH 24: (Note to Editor: This digital image has been converted to black and white) Roger Federer of Switzerland reacts to a lost point against Thanasi Kokkinakis of Australia during his loss on Day 6 of the Miami Open at the Crandon Park Tennis Center on March 24, 2018 in Key Biscayne, Florida. (Photo by Al Bello/Getty Images) /
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Roger Federer is back in the world No. 1 position in men’s singles tennis. The kicker though, is that he isn’t even playing right now.

Swiss superstar Roger Federer is once again the world No. 1 in men’s singles tennis. His 2018 ATP World Tour has already featured a Grand Slam title-win at the Australian Open. He continues to be the tennis legend that we all know and love. The kicker here, however, is that Federer isn’t even playing right now.

Rafael Nadal falls to Dominic Thiem at the Madrid Open during their quarterfinals meeting. He needed to defend all of his champion’s points this past week if he hoped to hang onto the sport’s top ranking. Nadal will briefly drop back to the world No. 2 ranking.

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As long as Federer is away from the courts, Nadal continues to have the edge. He may have slipped back into the second-place spot, but Rafa is having a fantastic clay court season. He is the favorite at the upcoming French Open and ought to be considered the player to beat in any tournament he plays in right now. Federer retaking the world No. 1 ranking is more about the semantics of the points system than anything else. The ATP World Tour has been phenomenal for both Federer and Nadal so far, and when the Swiss great returns, the two will likely swap the top spot several more times throughout the year.

Elsewhere on the ATP World Tour, Alexander Zverev is a major factor.

In the world No. 3 ranking is rising star Alexander Zverev. He is coming off of back-to-back titles in Munich and then again in Madrid. Zverev defeats Thiem in Madrid in order to continue his fine run of tennis. The title-win at the Madrid Open gives him three career Masters 1000s.

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Zverev remains well positioned in the third ranking and Roger Federer ought to keep an eye on him during the later months of the year. Sascha and other rising stars such as Thiem are making headlines on the 2018 tour and should continue to do so.

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