Class of 2019: Newest members in top-ten club
The exclusive "top ten" club of the ATP rankings welcomed its latest entrant in Spaniard Roberto Bautista Agut this week. Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal, and Roger Federer occupy the top three spots in the ATP rankings followed by two-time Roland Garros finalist Dominic Thiem.
Daniil Medvedev is at a career-high no. 5 after beating David Goffin for his first Masters 1000 title at the Cincinnati Masters. The Russian is one of five players to have debuted in the top ten this season. Let us have a look at each of them.
#1 Stefanos Tsitsipas
Stefanos Tsitsipas became a top-ten player for the first time following a runner-up finish to Roger Federer at the Dubai Open. Earlier in the season, the Greek beat Federer in the fourth round of the Australian Open en route to his first Grand Slam semifinal where he lost to Nadal. Tsitsipas followed up his big run in Melbourne with his second career singles title in Marseille where he beat Mikhail Kukushkin of Kazakhstan in the title match. As of 19th August 2019, Tsitsipas has completed 24 uninterrupted weeks inside the top ten.
#2 Karen Khachanov
The 2018 Paris-Bercy Masters winner turned around an underwhelming 10-12 start to the season by beating Juan Martin Del Potro to reach his maiden Grand Slam quarterfinal at Roland Garros (lost to Thiem). The run in the French capital helped the Russian make his debut in the top ten of the ATP rankings. Khachanov has completed ten uninterrupted weeks inside the top ten as of 19th August 2019.
#3 Fabio Fognini
Fabio Fognini became the first Italian player in 40 years to be ranked in the top ten since Corrado Barazzutti, after a run to the fourth round at Roland Garros (lost to Sascha Zverev).
Season highlights for the Italian include a maiden Masters 1000 title at Monte Carlo where he overcame 11-time champion Rafael Nadal in the semis before beating another first-time Masters finalist Dusan Lajovic in the title match to become the oldest player to triumph at a Masters 1000 tournament.
#4 Daniil Medvedev
Daniil Medvedev joined his good friend and compatriot Karen Khachanov in the top ten of the ATP rankings for the first time after reaching the third round at Wimbledon (lost to Goffin).
The Russian has since ascended to a career-high world no. 5 following his maiden Masters 1000 triumph in Cincinnati over David Goffin. Medvedev has had a strong 2019 season, romping to titles in Sofia and Cincinnati and finishing runner-up in Brisbane (lost to Nishikori), Barcelona, (lost to Thiem), Washington DC (lost to Kyrgios) and Montreal (lost to Nadal).
The Russian leads the tour with most match wins (44) and most hardcourt match wins (31). As of 19th August 2019, Medvedev is the highest-ranked Russian player and has completed five uninterrupted weeks inside the top ten of the ATP rankings.
#5 Roberto Bautista Agut
Roberto Bautista Agut, on the cusp of the top ten for a while, finally made his breakthrough on 19th August 2019 following a quarterfinal finish at the Cincinnati Masters (lost to Richard Gasquet). The 31-year-old is the second Spaniard in the top ten of the world rankings.
Enjoying the best season of his 16-year professional career, Bautista Agut started the season with a title run in Doha where he beat Djokovic in the semifinals before beating Marin Cilic in five sets to reach his first Grand Slam quarterfinal at the Australian Open (lost to Tsitsipas).
Bautista Agut had his second win of the season against the top-seeded Djokovic in Miami before beating Guido Pella in four sets to reach his first Grand Slam semifinal at Wimbledon where he took a set off Djokovic in a four-set defeat.
The Spaniard was a tie-break away in the Montreal quarterfinals against Frenchman Gael Monfils from debuting in the top ten, before finally getting over the line with a run to the quarterfinals in Cincinnati (lost to Gasquet).