Wawrinka rises, Nadal falls in ATP rankings

FRENCH Open champion, Stan Wawrinka, has moved up five places to number four in the official ATP world rankings released yesterday. But Spain’s Rafa Nadal, beaten in the quarterfinals, has dropped to 10th, his lowest position for 10 years.

Wawrinka described his four-set victory in the Paris final over world number one, Novak Djokovic, as “the match of my life.” It enabled the 30-year-old Swiss to shoot up from number nine, while Nadal tumbled the other way after going out at the quarter-final stage to Djokovic in a tournament he has won nine times.

Maria Sharapova dropped two places in the WTA rankings to number four following her fourth-round defeat at Roland Garros, with the Czech Republic’s Petra Kvitova replacing her at number two ahead of Simona Halep.

Kvitova’s compatriot, Lucie Safarova, the runner-up in Paris to number one Serena Williams, rose six places to a career-best seventh.