With so many points at stake compared to other events, Grand Slams always shake up the rankings. This Australian Open may not have been quite as monumental in that department as majors usually are, but there were some developments worth noting.
Biggest jump by a player inside the top 30: John Isner (+3 spots) – A third-round performance at a major for someone around No. 20 in the world generally means nothing. Isner, though, benefited from first-week losses by Fabio Fognini, Gael Monfils, and Gilles Simon. The 6’10” American will have a good shot at a top 16 seed in Indian Wells, but he has semifinal points to defend there so achieving similar status for Miami and the French Open is a much more difficult proposition.
Biggest fall by a player inside the top 30: Stan Wawrinka (-5 spots) – Along with Andy Murray’s ascension back into the Big 4, this is the most significant rankings development of the Australian Open. Wawrinka did well to turn in a semifinal showing, but evaporation of his 2014 title points sent him spiraling downward from No. 4 to ninth. The Swiss did almost nothing in Indian Wells, Miami, Madrid, or Rome last season, so he should be able to regain a top eight seed for Roland Garros–especially with Marin Cilic injured. A title to defend in Monte-Carlo, however, could keep the race for No. 8 at least somewhat competitive.
Biggest jump by a player already inside the top 100: Nick Kyrgios and Bernard Tomic (+18 spots) – Kyrgios reached the quarterfinals before succumbing to Andy Murray, a run that has him up to No. 35 in the world. The Australian has 180 points from two Challenger titles to defend between now and the French Open, but nothing else. So he should be seeded at Roland Garros…if he can actually win some matches in non-slam events. Tomic advanced to the fourth round Down Under and has climbed to 48th in the rankings. A hip injury sidelined him at this point in 2014, so he has a mere 26 points to defend until the French.
Biggest fall by a player still inside the top 100: Igor Sijsling (-16 spots) – Sijsling is in serious danger of dropping out of the top 100 for the first time since August of 2012. But he is not quite there yet after losing his first round of the main draw in all three of his tournaments last month (including to Ricardas Berankis in five sets in Melbourne). The Dutchman is down to No. 100 on the dot.
Biggest jump by a player currently in the top 100: Daniel Gimeno-Traver (+21 spots) – Gimeno-Traver opted to bypass Australia and vulture clay-court Challenger events. The plan started poorly with a first-round loss in Casablanca, but he captured the title in Bucaramanga, Colombia. That propelled the 29-year-old Spaniard to 89th in the rankings.
Biggest fall by a player currently outside the top 100: Peter Gojowycz (-36 spots) – Gojowyczk took the first set of his Aussie Open opener against Guillermo Garcia-Lopez, who eventually made it to the fourth round. The German, whose 2014 Heilbronn Challenger title points came off the board, ended up retiring in the fourth set. Gojowyczk has literally zero points to defend between now and Roland Garros, but at No. 132 in the world he will still have to make a move for direct entry into the season’s second major.
Honorable mentions
Gilles Muller (+6): Up to a career-high No. 36 with a fourth-round finish.
Malek Jaziri (+10): Up to a career-high No. 65 with surprise third-round appearance.
Marcos Baghdatis (+11): Up to No. 67 by reaching third round.
Sam Groth (+12): Up to a career-high No. 70 thanks to third-round performance.
Jurgen Melzer (+16): Back in the top 100 at No. 92 after qualifying and reaching second round.
Jared Donaldson (+73): Up to career-high No. 178 by winning Maui Challenger.
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