Battle for the last ATP Finals spots heats up as Djokovic named ‘Mover of the Week’

Novak Djokovic was named the Mover of the Week as he climbs the ATP Finals rankings in Turin. The 24-time Grand Slam champion made a strong return to the tour at the Shanghai Masters after an early exit at the US Open.

Djokovic reached the final again but fell short against Jannik Sinner, who claimed victory in straight sets. Nole earned 600 points, which moved him up several positions in the ATP Race, placing him in sixth position. He has the chance to qualify for the Finals for the 17th time in his career, where he has won the title on 7 occasions with a record of 50-18 (74%).

Three players have already qualified for the ATP Finals, led by Jannik Sinner (10,330 points), followed by four-time Grand Slam champion Carlos Alcaraz (6,710) and French Open runner-up Alexander Zverev (6,215). With just a couple of weeks of competition left, the qualification cut is currently at 4,945 points, as the race to join the year-end tournament continues.

A total of eight players will qualify for the tournament. Currently, the closest to qualifying is Russian Daniil Medvedev, who has 4,820 points, just 125 away from qualification. However, this number could decrease depending on the results in the final weeks of competition. The former world No. 1 seems almost certain to qualify, as only a disaster could keep him out.

In fifth position is recent US Open runner-up Taylor Fritz (4,290 points). Although he is still a considerable distance from qualifying, almost 700 points away, Fritz has the ATP 500 Vienna Open and the Paris Masters, the last Masters 1000 of the year, ahead of him.

Novak Djokovic's strong week at the Shanghai Masters allowed him to enter the qualifying zone for the first time since the beginning of the year. While Nole had a solid start to the season by reaching the semifinals at the Australian Open, his limited tournament participation and a few surprising losses kept him out of the top 8 in the Race. Nole has 3,910 points and will aim for qualification in his last tournament ahead at the Paris Masters, where he is the all-time champion with 7 titles between 2009 and 2023.

Just behind him is Casper Ruud (3,805 points), who, despite an irregular season, had several deep runs, especially during the clay swing, where he won his first ATP 500 in Barcelona and reached the final of the Monte-Carlo Masters.

Currently, the 8th position appears to be an open contest, with Andrey Rublev (3,580) in the qualifying zone for now. Following him are Alex De Minaur (3,305), Grigor Dimitrov (2,935), Tommy Paul (2,885), and Stefanos Tsitsipas (2,835). A strong performance in the coming weeks could place anyone in qualifying contention, with the race still wide open, and Rublev in the best position.