The illusion of all tennis lovers before the start of a new season is already overwhelming and no wonder. There are many incentives that season the first month of competitions, with the Open Australia 2023 just around the corner, promising to be a historic Grand Slam. While it is true that Carlos Alcaraz is sure to reach Melbourne as number 1 in the world and that his main pursuer, Rafael Nadalwill have little margin for gaining points, since he defends the 2,000 that correspond to him as defending champion, important changes can occur in the ATP ranking. There is no doubt that the fact that Novak Djokovic doesn’t defend anything at all offers the Serbian considerable room for growth, but there are many other tennis players involved in the battle for noble positions in the standings.
Points to defend in the ATP top 10 rankings in January 2023
Carlos Alcaraz – 90 points
The youngster from Murcia must take advantage of this first month of the season to try and add more points than his opponents. He has opted out of competing in any event before the Australian Open, but will look forward to making it past the third round he picked up last year.
Rafael Nadal – 2,250 points
A bad start to the season for the Spaniard could cause him to lose many positions, since he not only defends the title in the first Grand Slam of the year, but also the title won in the ATP 250 tournament in Melbourne. Rafa will be looking to defend some of those points in the United Cup, with a view to having a big tournament later in Melbourne.
Casper Ruud – 125 points
The Norwegian did not start the season well, he failed to play the Australian Open and what he added was in the ATP Cup. He can dream of an assault on the number 1 if he can continue the excellent level of play shown during the vast majority of 2022.
Stefanos Tsitsipas – 780 points
His performance in Melbourne was impressive and he will have to concentrate hard to get back to those semi-final wins last year. First he will try to win matches in the United Cup, to build confidence and secure his place in the top 5 in the world.
Novak Djokovic – 0 points
The sky is your limit. Not being able to compete last year opens up a very exciting scenario for the Serbian in the coming month, in which he could add up to 2,250 points, as he not only competes in the Grand Slam but will also do so first in Adelaide. You can stop the number 1 in the world.
Félix Auger-Aliassime – 750 points
Little profit margin for the Canadian tennis player, who sees this campaign as the definitive assault on glory. The effort made in the last stretch of 2022 may weigh on him, but there are good prospects for how far he can go.
Daniil Medvedev – 1,495 points
The Russian tennis player will have to row hard to get out of this challenging month without a negative balance. Everything changed in Daniil’s season after that fateful final for his interests at the Australian Open, but he will also defend the 295 points collected in the ATP Cup.
Andrey Rublev – 90 points
An exciting start to the season for a Rublev who was crushed during the preseason to try to improve his level of play and make that qualitative leap he resists and which is necessary to fight for the big titles. You can grow in the leaderboard if you show your best version.
Taylor Fritz – 340 points
The American has a thorn in his side at the Australian Open, in which he has lost matches in the last two editions that he seemed to have in hand. Djokovic, in 2021, and Tsitsipas, in 2022, broke away from him in intense battles. Now he will be looking to consolidate himself in the top-10, which he may have room for.
Hubert Hurkacz – 165 points
The Polish player has good growth prospects in the standings, with very few points to defend and having a long pre-season behind him in which he was able to rest and make technical-tactical adjustments to his tennis. It will be interesting to see what he is capable of.
