Wimbledon 2022: 7 men's players who were affected with the ATP's decision to not award the event ranking points ft. Rafael Nadal & Novak Djokovic
This year's Wimbledon has come to an end with Novak Djokovic being crowned the men's singles champion. The Serb did not have an easy run to the title, dropping a set in his opener and last 16 matches against Soon Woo Kwon and Tim van Rijthoven, respectively. Jannik Sinner gave him a stern test, pushing him to five sets in the quarterfinals while Cameron Norrie won the opening set in the semifinals.
However, he found a way back into the match and beat both players before coming back from a set down to defeat Nick Kyrgios in the final.
There was some controversy before the start of this year's Wimbledon Championships, with the All-England Club deciding to ban Russian and Belarusian athletes from playing at SW19 due to the ongoing war in Ukraine.
As a result, the ATP and the WTA decided not to award ranking points for the grasscourt Major. Many players in the men's draw were negatively impacted and fell down the rankings despite career-best results.
On that note, let's take a look at seven players who were affected by the decision with the ATP's decision not to award ranking points at Wimbledon.
#1. Novak Djokovic
Novak Djokovic won his seventh Wimbledon crown but has suffered a ranking drop as he lost all of the 2000 points he won last year. The Serb has dropped four places down to seventh in the ATP rankings.
Magnificent.
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Novak Djokovic currently has 4770 points to his name, 75 points less than World No. 6 Carlos Alcaraz. The Serb could also be in danger of dropping out of the top 10 if he is not allowed to participate at the US Open.
#2. Nick Kyrgios
Nick Kyrgios enjoyed his best-ever outing at a Grand Slam so far as he reached the Wimbledon final. The Australian beat Paul Jubb, Filip Krajinovic, Stefanos Tsitsipas, Brandon Nakashima and Cristian Garin before Rafael Nadal withdrew from their semifinal match.
Kyrgios lost the final to Novak Djokovic but he had quite a run. Having lost his points from last year, the 27-year-old slipped five spots below to 45th in the ATP rankings. If ranking points were awarded, he would have made a return to the top 20.
However, given his recent performances, we could see some explosive tennis from Kyrgios in upcoming tournaments.
#3. David Goffin
The Belgian continued his upward trejectory this season after a string of poor performances over over a year due to various injuries. Goffin started Wimbledon with straight-sets wins over Radu Albot and 31st seed Sebastian Baez. He then came back from a set down to defeat Ugo Humbert before overcoming Frances Tiafoe in a thrilling five-setter.
Goffin's run came to an end after losing 6-3, 5-7, 6-2, 3-6, 5-7 to Cameron Norrie in the last eight. The Belgian has dropped to 71st in the ATP rankings despite reaching the quarterfinals at SW19.
#4. Cristian Garin
Cristian Garin was among the more surprising quarterfinalists at Wimbledon this year, defeating Elias Ymer, Hugo Grenier, Jenson Brooksby and Alex de Minaur en route to the last eight.
The Chilean's journey came to an end at the hands of Nick Kyrgios in straight sets. Despite his run to the last eight, Garin fell from No. 43 to 56 in the ATP rankings after points from his last 16 run in 2021 dropped on Monday.
If ranking points were awarded, the 26-year-old would have been in the top 35.
#5. Cameron Norrie
Cameron Norrie won the hearts of the local crowd during his spectacular run to the semifinals of Wimbledon. The 26-year-old was seeded ninth in the tournament and began his SW19 campaign by beating Pablo Andujar in straight sets.
Norrie then survived a scare from Jaume Munar and overcame the Spaniard in five sets. Straight-set wins over Steve Johnson and Tommy Paul saw the Brit reach the quarterfinals.
Here, he overcame a resilient David Goffin in five sets to reach his maiden Grand Slam semifinal. Norrie was up against Novak Djokovic and won the opening set 6-2. However, the Serb bounced back to win the next three sets and seal his place in the final.
Norrie moved up a spot to 11th in the ATP rankings, but if ranking points were awarded, he would have been No. 8.
#6. Rafael Nadal
Nadal played his first grasscourt competition since 2019 and played well to reach yet another semifinal at Wimbledon. The Spaniard beat Francisco Cerundolo, Ricardas Berankis, Lorenzo Sonego and Botic van de Zandschulp to reach the quarterfinals.
Here, he beat Taylor Fritz 3-6, 7-5, 3-6, 7-5, 7-6(4) despite suffering from an abdominal injury. The injury prevented him from competing any further at Wimbledon, and he was forced to withdraw from the competition.
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The Spaniard is currently third in the ATP rankings with 6165 points but would have been second if ranking points were awarded.
#7. Tim van Rijthoven
The Dutchman was ranked outside the top 200 when the grasscourt season began. However, he won his maiden career singles title at the Libema Open by beating Daniil Medvedev in the final and moved up to No. 106.
Tim van Rijthoven also reached the fourth round of Wimbledon before losing to Novak Djokovic in four sets. The Dutchman did climb up a spot in the ATP rankings but would've been ranked in the top 75 and received direct entry to the US Open later this year in August.