Tennis Power Rankings
What does it say about the state of fall game when Roger Federer, who has not picked up a racket since September, leaps back to the top spot?
Considering the injury epidemic -- also known as fall tennis -- players are failing to take advantage of the Swiss' hiatus.
As for the women, U.S. Open finalists Kim Clijsters and Caroline Wozniacki are still looking south at the field.
Don't agree with Ravi? Let him have it. We think he can handle it.
| 2009 Power Rankings: October | |||||
| RK (LM) | PLAYER | COMMENT | |||
 | 1(2) | None of the other big guns has taken the bull by the horns in the fall, so the absent Roger Federer glides to the top spot by default. After spending some time with the wife and twins, he's back at it in early November in his hometown of Basel. A refreshed Federer should be a force at the Paris Masters and World Tour Finals in London. | |||
 | 2(NR) | Oh, Nikolay Davydenko, why can?t you produce this sort of form at the majors? Russia?s version of Andre Agassi put in a Nadal-like performance at the Shanghai Masters, overcoming Novak Djokovic in three grueling hours in the semis, then crushing the Spaniard the next day. He began the Asian swing by winning in Malaysia. Chalk down his exit in Moscow to fatigue. | |||
 | 3(6) | Slowly but surely, Novak Djokovic is upping the ante. Djokovic outslugged Marin Cilic to claim the Beijing title and had opportunities to put Davydenko away in straight sets. He still needs to work on his body language, though. Early in Shanghai, despite easing past a pair of qualifiers, his shoulders sometimes slumped and the muttering began. | |||
 | 4(4) | Rafael Nadal is waiting for his first title since the clay-court season. He struggled to reach the Shanghai final, wobbling in the second and third sets against James Blake and faltering slightly versus the revitalized Ivan Ljubicic. Then there was his lopsided defeat to Cilic in Beijing. However, he says he's back to 100 percent physically, and that's the most important thing. The wins will follow -- soon. | |||
 | 5(3) | All the top women are slumping (perhaps a few are disinterested?), so Kim Clijsters remains the WTA player to beat. Clijsters made her first on-court appearance this week since winning the U.S. Open, playing in the Luxembourg Open. The Belgian should keep it going in the tiny European nation, given that she's won the tourney five times. | |||
 | 6(1) | No one should be surprised that Juan Martin del Potro sustained a letdown after the U.S. Open, especially since he's dealing with a right wrist injury. Those can be dicey. The talented but mentally suspect Jurgen Melzer prospered from his retirement in Shanghai. For those who think del Potro is a flash in the pan, well, don't be silly. He's a keeper. | |||
 | 7(9) | Marin Cilic is looking a bit like del Potro. He began his foray into the elite by sweeping past Andy Murray in New York and routed a second member of the Big Five, Nadal, 6-1, 6-3. "From the beginning of the match until the end I didn't let my level of play drop," Cilic told reporters. The growing pains remain, as the Croat was outslugged by Tomas Berdych in Shanghai. | |||
 | 8(5) | One of the new darlings of the women's tour wasn't too happy at the China Open. Caroline Wozniacki requested a later start, didn't get it, lost, then criticized tournament and tour officials. Now, now. Wozniacki was probably happier in Osaka, reaching the semis before losing to eventual champ Sam Stosur. Her retirement in Luxembourg was somewhat bizarre. | |||
| 9(11) | Like Wozniacki, Yanina Wickmayer lost her first match since an improbable sojourn at the U.S. Open. But indoors in Linz, Austria, the tall, free-swinging Belgian dropped a single set en route to a second 2009 title. Her reward was surging to a career high of No. 20 a day before her 20th birthday on Oct. 20. What's in a number, eh? | |||
 | 10(NR) | So typical of Svetlana Kuznetsova. She goes missing for long periods, then shows up and reminds us how good she can be. Kuznetsova continued her fine performances at the China Open, although she got a pooped Nadia Petrova in the semis. Handling the always-tricky Agnieszka Radwanska is never easy, and Kuzy outclassed the Pole in the finale. | |||
 | 11(8) | Unexpectedly losing to yo-yo Feliciano Lopez in the quarterfinals in Shanghai dented Robin Soderling's chances of attending the year-end finals. However, the Asian swing turned out to be fruitful. The big basher lost to the eventual champs in the semifinals in Kuala Lumpur and Beijing and achieved a career high of No. 10 in the rankings this week. | |||
 | 12(7) | The new, old No. 1 didn't have a great week in Beijing, blowing a few chances against an inspired Petrova. And Serena Williams is still waiting to find out whether she'll get more punishment for her U.S. Open tantrum. Is she overly bothered? Perhaps not. Williams, promoting her book, recently appeared on Conan O'Brien and "Jimmy Kimmel Live." | |||
 | 13(NR) | Jo-Wilfried Tsonga went AWOL for large parts of the clay-court season and disappointed on grass. The Asian swing was his most productive segment of the season, highlighted by a triumph in Tokyo. A controversial line call against Soderling in Shanghai curtailed his London hopes. | |||
 | 14(NR) | Yes, Gilles Simon remains on the tour. The versatile Frenchman, playing with an injured knee much of the campaign, won a maiden 2009 title in Thailand. Simon extended Djokovic to three sets in the Shanghai quarterfinals, too. Coupled with last year's results, safe to say Simon likes the fall. | |||
 | 15(10) | Andy Roddick and Nadal led the assault on the calendar in Shanghai, and the longtime U.S. No. 1 promptly injured his knee in the second round against Stan Wawrinka. Roddick, a loser to a Polish journeyman in Beijing, should be healthy in time for London. | |||
 | 16(14) | Venus Williams will be firmly focused on Doha in the wake of back-to-back second-round losses to the somewhat promising yet erratic Russian teen Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova in Tokyo and Beijing. Or will she? "Why don't I ever want to practice, ever?" she tweeted this week. | |||
 | 17(16) | Too little tennis is getting to Dementieva, it seems. She enters Doha having played just two tournaments after the U.S. Open, and neither was particularly productive. An exit in her Tokyo opener was followed by a quarterfinal defeat to Radwanska in Beijing. Dementieva failed to serve out the first set against Radwanska and succumbed in two. | |||
 | 18(15) | You know things are bad when a player dodges a postmatch press conference, issuing a statement instead. That's what deposed No. 1 Dinara Safina did after losing to then-world No. 226 Shuai Zhang in Beijing. In Tokyo, Chang Kai-Chen (No. 132) was her tormentor. One suspects Doha will be either really good or a train wreck for Safina. | |||
 | 19(13) | What a turnaround for Andy Murray in the last month or so. Picked by many to win the U.S. Open, he foundered. A wrist injury is currently keeping Murray, down to fourth in the rankings, sidelined. No need to worry, according to Pete Sampras: "He will break through and win a couple of majors." | |||
 | 20(NR) | A combination of grit and power helped Maria Sharapova in Tokyo as she continued her comeback from that serious shoulder injury. Sharapova won three three-setters on her way to the title, and battled past Victoria Azarenka, a warrior herself, in three hours in Beijing. Bring on 2010. | |||
INSIDE TENNIS
How much of a disgrace was Serena Williams' U.S. Open tirade? Four Aussie legends, who aren't afraid to speak the truth, weigh in.
Yes, the American Fed Cup squad is raw, but they play with inspiration. Is that enough, though, to vanquish a dogged Italian team in the final?
Despite her pledge to play the Fed Cup finale "unless she was in a wheelchair," Serena Williams has bowed out. So it's up to emerging U.S. talent to come through again.
Too many pretenders and not enough contenders on the WTA Tour this year. That leaves Serena Williams as the rightful owner of the world No. 1 ranking.
Look, we can condemn Andre Agassi for experimenting with crystal meth, but his unvarnished admission speaks volumes to his character.
What do Andre Agassi's revelations about his low point in his career say about his character and career?