Roger Federer drops to World No. 3 in the new ATP rankings

Seventeen-time Swiss grand slam champion Roger Federer and British tennis star Andy Murray will swap places when the Emirates Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) rankings were released on Monday (EDT). Murray moved to second in the men’s tennis rankings after beating Novak Djokovic 6-4 4-6 6-3 on Sunday’s final of the 2015 Rogers Cup in Montreal. It was Murray’s third Rogers Cup title, his fourth this season.

Federer, who was a finalist at the 2014 Rogers Cup finalist, had started this season at the second place in the world rankings with 9,625 points. However, it would not be impossible for Federer to reclaim the second place from Murray if he is able to successfully defend his title at the Western & Southern Open in Cincinnati. Last year, Federer beat David Ferrer in straight sets to win his sixth Cincinnati trophy.

The 34-year-old Swiss will be playing his first tournament since losing to Novak Djokovic in Wimbledon’s final at the All England Club. He had spent the last few weeks at his home town in Switzerland hitting a few practice sessions and just relaxing with his family, The Oakland Press reported.

Vying for a seventh title in Cincinnati, Federer said that he can’t wait for the tournament to begin. He hit a few balls during Sunday’s practice session and added that he was satisfied with how he was shaping up for the tournament. The second-seeded Swiss is drawn on the bottom half with Rafael Nadal, which means that the two could meet in the quarterfinals.

“I’m fresh and obviously eager to play and can’t wait for the tournament to start, really,” Federer said. “But practice has been going very well, I’m very happy with how I’m feeling.”

Meanwhile, Murray will return to World No. 2 for the first time since Aug. 12, 2013. The British tennis star was already guaranteed to swap places with Federer when he scored straight-sets victory 6-3 6-0 over Kei Nishikori in the semifinal.

“It’s nice to get back there, especially after everything I went through last year with the surgery and dropping out of the top 10,” Murray said, as quoted by Sportsmole.co.uk . “A lot of questions were being asked about how my game was physically and stuff.”

Murray, who is also competing in Cincinnati, said that it feels “good” to get back close to the top of the world rankings. He added that he will continue to work hard and try to become World No. 1.

Federer and Murray received byes into the second round of the Western & Southern Open. Federer will face the winner of the match between Roberto Bautista Agut and Pablo Cuevas. Murray, on the other hand, will play the winner of the match between Viktor Troicki and Mardy Fish.

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