Multiple blow for Rafael Nadal. The Spanish tennis player, after losing in the second round of the Australian Open, will not be able to defend the title that he epically achieved last season. His defeat, as painful as it is honorable, however, will have more implications. The extent of his hip injury, where he felt pain during the final stretch of the second set, will determine the next steps for the Spaniard, whose schedule may be altered. At the moment, it will fall beyond the top-5 in the ranking, positions that it has not abandoned for more than a year (January 5, 2022), right before achieve his 21st Grand Slam, the one that broke the historic tie with Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic. Now, the Serbian, who was in great shape in his debut against Roberto Carballés, has a clear path to match Rafa’s 22 grand.
In total, Nadal, who defended the 2,000 champion points, will appear with 1,955 fewer credits when the ranking is updated (on January 30, once the Oceanic Slam is over). With this, right now, the Spanish tennis player would be sixth in the world ranking, led by Carlos Alcaraz who can only lose the throne to Casper Ruud (2nd), Novak Djokovic (3rd) or Stefanos Tsitsipas (4th). Andrey Rublev (5th), virtually, is the remaining player ahead of Rafa, who could lose several more positions depending on the results of their immediate pursuers. Félix Auger-Aliassime (7th), already in the third round after coming back from Alex Molcan, or Taylor Fritz (8th) They are the players who are in the best position to lower the Balearic Islands more positions. Holger Rune, Hubert Hurkacz or even Daniil Medvedev, now 12th, however, could also cause it.
| Position | Player | Points | Max points in Australia |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1º | Carlos Alcaraz (ESP) | 6.730 | 6.730 |
| 2º | Casper Ruud (NOR) | 5.765 | 7.720 |
| 3º | Novak Djokovic (SER) | 5.115 | 7.070 |
| 4º | Stefanos Tsitsipas (GRE) | 5.040 | 6.995 |
| 5º | Andrey Rublev (RUS) | 3.885 | 5.840 |
| 6º | Rafael Nadal (ESP) | 3.815 | 3.815 |
| 7º | Félix Auger-Aliassime (CAN) | 3.625 | 5.535 |
| 8º | Taylor Fritz (USA) | 3.410 | 5.365 |
| 9º | Holger Rune (DIN) | 2.911 | 4.866 |
| 10º | Hubert Hurkacz (POL) | 2.860 | 4.815 |
*Virtual ranking immediately after Nadal’s defeat.
horizon in the ranking
With the defeat and the large loss of points, in addition, Nadal has just over 1,000 margin credits to remain in the top-10, a group that has not left since July 2015, something that has helped him to establish the record (active) of weeks among the ten best in the world. In total, the Spaniard accumulates 904 updates that, after Australia, could come to an end. Mathematically, the streak is in danger in Oceania; depending on the extent of the injury, and if it does not take place before, he could also do it in the coming months. At the end of February, Nadal will lose the 500 points in Acapulco and is scheduled to go to Dubai (also ATP 500). At the beginning of March, he should also defend the 600 credits achieved in the final of Indian Wells, in which he fell to Fritz. So, with rib problems. “I needed to spend days on the circuit and these three weeks have been positive, because I have been able to recover many things, at the level of mobility, competitiveness, and I hope I don’t have to be away for a long time again, because that way it’s very difficult to get in shape”, declared Nadal already at a press conference. At the ranking level, the period of loss can be decisive.
