Rankings watch: Aussie youngsters make their move
Nick Kyrgios, Jordan Thompson and Thanasi Kokkinakis have this week continued their steady climb up the ATP rankings.
Melbourne, Australia, 8 October 2013 | tennis.com.au
Nick Kyrgios, Jordan Thompson and Thanasi Kokkinakis have this week continued their steady climb up the ATP rankings.
Kyrgios, 18, reached the semifinals of last week’s Sacramento Challenger in California and as a result jumped 14 places to No.177, a career-high ranking for the Canberra native.
Thompson, Kyrgios’ partner in their run to last year’s junior US Open doubles final, has shown his adeptness at transitioning to the senior tour; his recent success at the Alice Springs Pro Tour event boosted his ranking by 93 places.
The 19-year-old Sydneysider is now ranked 361st, having risen from outside the top 500 in the past month thanks to his continued Pro Tour success.
Kokkinakis, the youngest of the group at 17, rocketed 117 places this week to world No.658; his rise came about after he won four matches in Sacramento to reach the second round as a qualifier, where he ultimately lost to Kyrgios.
Kokkinakis, a recent boys’ singles finalist at the US Open, has won eight of his past 10 matches on the ATP Challenger Tour and has risen almost 300 spots in the past fortnight.
In the upper reaches of the Australian rankings tree, Bernard Tomic, Marinko Matosevic and Lleyton Hewitt each enjoyed handy rises after all reached the second round at the China Open in Beijing.
The trio, ranked 51st, 52nd and 54th respectively, are on the verge of a top 50 breakthrough.
> see where the Aussies stand in the latest ATP rankings
There was little change in the Australians’ positions in this week’s edition of the WTA rankings