TENNIS.com Top 25: May 19

The year’s second major, the French Open, begins Sunday. Who’s hot? Who’s not? This month’s Top 25 features players in both categories, with Novak Djokovic once again the star performer.

1. Novak Djokovic (Previous: 1)

No one can stop Nole at present. Physically and mentally, he has much left in the tank for the French. But now it’s gut-check time. If he fails to win this time at Roland Garros, much of his recent good work would have gone for little. Note this: Djokovic, despite his increasing spells of dominance, has won more than one Slam in a season just once, in 2011.

2. Andy Murray (Previous: 5)

This marriage thing is pretty good, eh, Andy? Murray tied the knot, then bagged two clay-court titles in a week. Calling the Scot one of the favorites at the French might be premature, but he’ll probably be disappointed if he can’t at least match last year’s semifinal showing.

3. Serena Williams (Previous: 2)

So, Williams’ dodgy elbow probably did have something to do with her loss in Madrid. She surely wanted more matches on clay prior to Oarus, but withdrawing from Rome was a sensible option despite her fondness for the city and tournament. And hey, she still hasn’t been beaten there since 2010.

4. Maria Sharapova (Previous: 8)

What would a tennis season be these days without a clay-court title for Sharapova? She ousted Carla Suarez Navarro to win Rome and ensure a healthy dose of confidence ahead of her most successful Grand Slam. What happened in Madrid, and especially Stuttgart, has to be largely forgotten.

5. Carla Suarez Navarro (Previous: 6)

Where does Suarez Navarro figure on the list of French Open favorites? It wouldn’t be silly to install her at No. 3 behind Serena and Maria. With seemingly endless reserves and a varied game, the Spaniard reached a second massive final in a little over a month. And this time, she came much closer to winning.

6. Roger Federer (Previous: 4)


Federer’s “we need a clown for this circus” line during his loss to Nick Kyrgios in Madrid won’t soon be forgotten. Organizers in Rome must have been overjoyed with the result, though, since it virtually guaranteed Federer’s presence in the Eternal City. He lived up to his seeding there, and with his title in Istanbul, Federer is in good shape for the French.

7. Kei Nishikori (Previous: 11)


Nishikori couldn’t repeat his final-round run in Madrid this year, but falling to an in-form Murray can’t be considered a major setback. Nor can a three-set defeat to the all-conquering Djokovic in Rome. Don’t forget, too, that the Japanese baseliner became only the third back-to-back winner in Barcelona in the last 20 years, matching Rafa and Thomas Muster.

8. Simona Halep (Previous: 3)


As Ana Ivanovic circa 2014 will tell you, it’s all about peaking at the Slams. Thus, if Halep wins the French Open or makes the final, she won’t have minded what happened in Stuttgart, Madrid, and Rome, where she was outdone by a trio who play a similar style to the Romanian (Caroline Wozniacki, Alize Cornet, Suarez Navarro).

9. Tomas Berdych (Previous: 7)


When Berdych hired Dani Vallverdu in the off-season, one of the goals, presumably, was to have better success against the Big Four. But after a good start by eliminating Rafa in Melbourne, the Czech is 0-for-7 against the famous quartet. On the flip side, commendably: His days of losing early at tournaments appear long gone.

10. Petra Kvitova (Previous: Unranked)


Kvitova simply can’t beat Suarez Navarro. It’s three matches and three losses for the Czech this year. Suarez Navarro’s ability to hit angled shots takes Kvitova out of her comfort zone. However, Kvitova was justifiably delighted with her victorious sojourn in Madrid, when she turned it on after a slow start—and didn’t have to face Suarez Navarro, of course.

11. Timea Bacsinszky (Previous: 10)

Going 4-3 on clay as a slump for Bacsinszky. Still, she upset Karolina Pliskova in Rome and eliminated the perennially dangerous Sabine Lisicki. Returning to Roland Garros should be special for the Swiss, since it was the site of the beginning of her rebirth in tennis.

12. Stan Wawrinka (Previous: 9)


This spell for Stan is like the Wawrinka of four or five years ago—he’s capable of beating anyone, but also capable of putting in some mind-numbing performances. The former relates to his win over Nadal in Rome; the latter relates to his loss to Federer a day later. He also had plenty of chances to defeat Grigor Dimitrov in Madrid. A first-round loser at the French last year, he can boost his ranking with a deep run this year.

13. Victoria Azarenka (Previous: Unranked)

Her low ranking, relatively speaking, means she ran into Williams and Sharapova sooner than she would have liked in Madrid and Rome, respectively. Extending Serena to three sets in the Spanish capital was uplifting; not converting three match points and hitting three double faults in a row in the second last game, though, was a bummer for the former world No. 1.

14. Karolina Pliskova (Previous: 12)

The first blip for Pliskova this season: A second-round exit in Madrid was followed by a first-round loss in Rome. Her opponents, however, were top quality in Caroline Garcia and Bacsinszky, respectively. But it hasn’t been all bad for Pliskova, as she battled her way to a home title in Prague.

15. John Isner (Previous: 20)

An American playing in Monte Carlo, Madrid, and Rome? Yes—and based on his results, it seemed to be a wise move for Isner. No matter if Rafa is struggling, taking a set off him on clay is an achievement. And Isner kept it up in Madrid, a point away from dispatching Berdych.

16. Milos Raonic (Previous: 15)


He gets to his highest ranking ever—No. 4—and then this happens: The foot injury that forced Raonic to retire in Monte Carlo and hampered him in Rome necessitated surgery. He’s facing an uphill battle to play at the French Open.

17. Caroline Wozniacki (Previous: 24)

Drawing Azarenka in her Rome opener was tough luck for the Dane; the Belarusian is better than her still misleading ranking. Wozniacki picked up some much needed wins, however, in Stuttgart and Madrid. The Arantxa effect? We would say yes, but she’s the latest coach to split with Wozniacki.

18. Angelique Kerber (Previous: Unranked)

It’s feast or famine lately for Kerber. She lost in the first round in Madrid and second round in Rome, but prior to that, the feisty German won the biggest title of her career at home in Stuttgart and produced a sizable win in the Fed Cup.

19. David Ferrer (Previous: 16)

The Little Beast continues to post solid results, making two semis and two quarterfinals in his four European clay-court events. It could have been better, though: He lost to a slumping Rafa in Monte Carlo (still a tall ask, of course) and was upset by Pablo Andujar in Barcelona. Disappointingly for Ferrer on his preferred surface, he didn’t threaten Nishikori or Djokovic in Madrid and Rome, respectively.

20. Rafael Nadal (Previous: 17)


For the first time in 11 years, Nadal didn’t win a European clay-court tournament leading into the French Open. He didn’t win Roland Garros that year—but he didn’t play in it in 2004. Will this year produce the same outcome in Paris? It’d be foolish, given his record there, to think he has little chance of grabbing a 10th title.

21. Svetlana Kuznetsova (Previous: Unranked)

Kuznetsova reminded us that she’s a two-time Grand Slam champion with her splendid performance in Madrid. Sveta sure did it the hard way, winning back-to-back marathons against Sam Stosur and Lucie Safarova before upsetting Sharapova. No wonder she had little left for the final against Kvitova.

22. Venus Williams (Previous: 14)

She didn’t exactly lose to journeywomen in Madrid and Rome, ousted by Azarenka and Halep. But not winning a set against either was likely a healthy disappointment for Williams, since she was a combined 7-1 against the duo ahead of the clay-court swing. Williams particularly struggled against Halep in Rome, making 34 unforced errors in 15 games.

23. Nick Kyrgios (Previous: Unranked)

He divides opinion with his antics, but no one can deny that Kyrgios has serious game. Reaching the Estoril final was impressive enough for this clay-court novice, and then the Aussie ousted Federer in Madrid. For one reason or another, you can’t take your eyes off him.

24. Daria Gavrilova (Previous: Unranked)

Gavrilova’s win over Sharapova in Miami and extending Halep to three sets in Indian Wells were obviously signs of things to come. Making the semifinals as a qualifier is hard enough at a big tournament; in Rome she won back-to-back three-hour slugfests over Belinda Bencic and Ivanovic, upset Bacsinszky in another two-and-a-half hours, and then took out a rested Christina McHale. Welcome to the Top 50.

25. Guillermo Garcia Lopez (Previous: Unranked)

Garcia Lopez is versatile, reaching finals indoors and outdoors and on clay, hard, and grass courts. He had a nice stretch in Bucharest and Estoril, winning the former and advancing to the semis in Portugal. And even with Marin Cilic out of sorts, Garcia Lopez’s win over the Croat in Rome means he can say he beat another Top-10 player.

Dropped out: Sabine Lisicki, Sloane Stephens, Flavia Pennetta, Madison Keys, Bernard Tomic, Adrian Mannarino, Eugenie Bouchard.