Rafael Nadal continued to hold the top spot in the men's Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) world singles rankings, released on Monday, while Switzerland's Roger Federer maintained a close second with a chance to overtake the injured Spaniard.
To dethrone Nadal and reclaim the lead for the first time since October 2012, Federer will need to reach the semi-finals in the Rotterdam Open this week, from which Nadal has been absent while recovering from leg surgery.
Federer, 20-time Grand Slam champion, closed to within 155 points of Nadal after his win last month at the Australian Open against world No.3 Marin Cilic of Croatia.
Alexander Zverev of Germany jumped to fourth place ahead of Bulgaria's Grigor Dimitrov, while Spain's Pablo Carreno-Busta maintained his hold on 10th place, continuing to keep South Africa's Kevin Anderson out of the top 10.
The current ATP rankings and point scores are as follows:
1. Rafael Nadal (Spain) 9,760 points
2. Roger Federer (Switzerland) 9,605
3. Marin Cilic (Croatia) 4,960
4. Alexander Zverev (Germany) 4,450
5. Grigor Dimitrov (Bulgaria) 4,425
6. Dominic Thiem (Austria) 4,060
7. David Goffin (Belgium) 3,400
8. Jack Sock (United States) 2,880
9. Juan Martin del Potro (Argentina) 2,815
10. Pablo Carreno-Busta (Spain) 2,705
(With IANS Inputs)
