Roger Federer broke back into the top 10 of the ATP World Rankings following his title win at the 2017 Australian Open on Sunday, according to the latest rankings released on 30 January.
The 18-time Grand Slam champion, who did not play a single competitive match in 2016 after the semi-final exit at Wimbledon, slipped out of the top 10 in November last year. However, on return from a six-month layoff due to a long-persisting knee injury, Federer showed glimpses of his vintage self enroute to the title in Melbourne.
On Sunday, Federer survived a marathon five-setter final against familiar foe Rafael Nada to win his first Australian Open title since 2010. Despite being 2-0 down in the decider, the 35-year-old stepped up and played aggressive tennis to outclass the Spaniard, who has also risen three spots to sixth position, 6-4 3-6 6-1 3-6 6-3.
Both Federer and Nadal surprised quite a few with their consistency and their ability to play five-setters shortly after coming back from injury layoffs. While Federer outclassed Stanislas Wawrinka and Kei Nishikori in marathon battles, the world number six had to fend off stiff challenges against Alexander Zverev and Grigor Dimitrov.
Andy Murray retains top spot
On the other hand, Andy Murray, who was ousted as early as in the fourth round by Germany's Mischa Zverev, retained his top spot and Novak Djokovic, who crashed out in the second round in Melbourne, consolidated his second ranking. Milos Raonic and Stanislas Wawrinka swapped to four and three, respectively as the latter reached the semi-final while the former exited in the quarter-final of the season's first Grand Slam.
Dimitrov, who capped his Brisbane title earlier this month with a run to the semi-final in Melbourne, rose two spots to 13th spot while German teenager Alexander was rewarded for his good run with a jump to 22nd spot.
Serena on top after record-breaking 23rd Slam title
Also, Serena Williams, who came back from an injury layoff, to win the Australian Open and better Steffi Graf's record of 22 Slam titles in the Open era, regained the top-spot in the WTA rankings. Notably, Angelique Kerber slipped from the numero uno position after suffering a fourth-round exit in Melbourne.
