Roger and Serena Still at the Top

Sunday, February 7, 2010 -- It is not turning out to be a good year for Rafael Nadal. He has dropped to world number 4 in the rankings, a decline that was partly caused by a bad case of recurrent tendinitis that sidelined the former World number 1 for a couple of weeks. He also sustained a ripped tendon when he lost to Andy Murray in the semifinals of the Australian Open. Murray later lost to champion Roger Federer, who is keeping a tight grip on the number one spot.

Federer will begin his 268th week on the number one spot in the ATP rankings, matching Jimmy Connors’ record for the third longest stay in number one on the ATP rankings. The record on the longest stay at the top of the rankings is held by Pete Sampras, who stayed on top for 286 weeks followed by Ivan Lendl who held on to the top spot for 270 weeks. The second spot is occupied by Novak Djokovic while Murray is on third.[[image:Serena Williams]

Serena Williams holds the top spot in women’s tennis, securing the top spot for the 15th week. Her most recent win was against Justine Henin on Saturday at the Australian Open finals. In second place is Dinara Safina, with Caroline Wozniacki on third. Henin was playing on a wild-card entry unranked after quitting in 2008 while holding the top spot. This was her first major tournament in two years, and she still needs to play on another official tournament before she gets an official ranking. The other Williams sister, Venus Williams occupies the fifth spot.