ATP Rankings: Rafael Nadal back at the top after Roger Federer's surprise loss to Borna Coric at Halle Open

What’s the story?

According to the latest ATP rankings, Rafael Nadal is back at the top spot, displacing the Swiss Maestro, Roger Federer, who had been sitting handsomely at the top after winning the Mercedes Cup 2018.

In case you didn’t know…

Federer Express, as he is popularly known, had recently regained the prime position in the ATP World Rankings on June 18, 2018. This was King Roger's 6th stint at the top spot, a truly amazing feat in itself.

Federer and Nadal are the only two players to claim the top position in Rankings since the past six months.

Rafa had been at the top of the Rankings for a good seven weeks at the start of 2018, with King Roger claiming it from him after reaching the quarter-finals in Rotterdam.

Post this Nadal has been dominant at the prime position for the most part, but for a single week in May, where Federer was at the top.

The heart of the matter

The 20-time Grand Slam Champion's long-standing rival Rafael Nadal is back in the top spot in the ATP World Rankings released on June 25, 2018.

The Swiss international began his grasscourt season on a high in 2018, when he ended up winning the Mercedes Cup 2018 in Stuttgart, Germany.

However, The King of Clay had an exceptional time at Roland-Garros, where he went unbeaten to clinch his 11th French Open Title. Spain's Raging Bull looked at his best and dropped just one set in all of his matches against Diego Schwartzman in the quarterfinal match, ultimately edging past Del Potro in the semifinal to meet 7th seeded Austrian Dominic Thiem in the final, where he won 6-4, 6-3, 6-2 to grab the coveted trophy. This enabled him to start his 177th week at the numero uno position, leading Federer by 100 points.

The Swiss Maestro briefly interrupted Nadal at the top yet again after his triumph against Nick Kyrgios in the semifinal of Mercedes Cup 2018, setting him up against Milos Raonic for the summit clash at Stuttgart. Federer also finished things off in style as he eased past Raonic 6-4, 7-6(3) in a closely contested battle in the final.

However, on June 24, the ace tennis player went down fighting against unseeded Borna Coric of Croatia in an attempt to defend his title at Gerry Weber Open at Halle. Coric was the surprise package of the tournament and deservedly received praise from Federer as he defeated him 7-6(6), 6-3, 6-2 in final.

What’s next?

This recent loss made Federer lose 200 points as he was the defending champion of the Gerry Weber Open, making him lose the top spot to Nadal. However, the fight for the top position is everlasting between the two and even though Federer would not be heading to the Wimbledon being No. 1, a good run at the biggest Grand Slam is sure to enable him to regain the spot.

Nadal now has 8,770 points to his name, whereas The Mighty Federer is just 50 points behind him at 8,720. Following them both at 3rd spot is the highly talented 21-year-old German Alexander Zverev with 5,755 points.

Age is certainly just a number Federer and despite being 36, he will always be on the prowl to get back up. Nadal will also be on the lookout and never miss an opportunity to make sure this does not happen.