Andy Murray will not be able to retain the title at Wimbledon
His five-set defeat against American Sam Querrey eliminated him in the quarterfinals of the third Grand Slam of the season. And what happens for the rest of the week at the All England will determine whether his disappointment becomes even greater: he could still lose the top spot in the world rankings.
Surprise at Wimbledon: Andy Murray says goodbye in the quarterfinals
With his elimination in the quarterfinals, Murray will lose 1,640 of the 2,000 points he had won twelve months ago as Wimbledon champion. Thus, he will go from having 9,390 points to 7,750. This will be enough for him to stay ahead of Rafael Nadal (7,465). But Novak Djokovic can still surpass him.
A celebration by Djokovic during his match against Mannarino. (Photo: AFP)
The Serb, who started the tournament in fourth place, is still in the race. What does he have to do to regain the top of the rankings? Win the tournament. In the event of winning his fourth title at Wimbledon, Djokovic, who fell in the third round in 2016, will reach 7,965 points.
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Djokovic was the world number one continuously between July 2014 and November 2016, when Murray, after an outstanding end to the season, displaced him from the top position.
At the same time, Rafael Nadal and Stanislas Wawrinka missed their chances of reaching the top. The Spaniard, ranked second, did not defend any points, as he did not participate in Wimbledon last year due to an injury, and reaching the final would have meant returning to number one. However, Luxembourg's Gilles Muller eliminated him in the round of 16 on Monday.
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In the case of Wawrinka, the hopes of being the best in the rankings for the first time in his career after Wimbledon lasted little. The Swiss bid farewell in the first round against young Russian Daniil Medvedev, who was playing his first professional match at Wimbledon.
Wawrinka's discomfort during his first-round match at Wimbledon. (Photo: Reuters)
On the other hand, Roger Federer, currently number five in the world and a semifinalist at Wimbledon in 2016, has no chance of reaching the top after this edition of the British Grand Slam. However, neither he nor Nadal defend any points after the English event. And this makes them strong candidates to take the top spot at the end of the season.