Khachanov, Fognini & Medvedev Seek Top 10 Breakthrough At Roland Garros

The ATP Tour’s best are ready to roll at Roland Garros, the year’s second Grand Slam. While everyone will be chasing the Coupe des Mousquetaires, the tournament is especially important to several players who are trying to crack the Top 10 of the ATP Rankings for the first time.

With World No. 9 Juan Martin del Potro dropping 720 points from making the 2018 semi-finals, and World No. 10 John Isner, who will not be competing in Paris, dropping 180 points since he made the fourth round last year, it is possible that two players could make their Top 10 debuts after this event.

Russians Karen Khachanov and Daniil Medvedev as well as Italian Fabio Fognini are all on the verge of achieving the milestone, and they could break through with big performances on the Parisian terre battue.

ATP Ranking Points Entering #RG19 & Points Dropping From 2018

While Fognini, the Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters champion, is currently No. 11 in the ATP Rankings, he will fall behind Khachanov on Monday due to points dropping off from reaching the Geneva semi-finals last year. He did not compete this week, thus will not add any points.

Both players advanced to the fourth round in Paris last year, so even after considering points they are dropping, Khachanov will carry a 15-point advantage over Fognini into Roland Garros.

Medvedev, who was outside the Top 50 this time last year, is also well positioned. The Russian lost to Lucas Pouille in the first round in 2018, so he will only drop only 10 points. Therefore, he will be 10 points ahead of Fognini and five behind Khachanov when taking points dropped into consideration.

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With Isner unable to add any points as he continues to recover from the injury he suffered in the Miami final, the trio trying to crack the Top 10 will need to reach at least the fourth round to pass the American. And if Del Potro fails to advance to the fourth round, Khachanov, Fognini and Medvedev will all be ranked ahead of the Argentine after Roland Garros. So pending the results of players ranked below them, all three players have a legitimate chance to reach the milestone.

Fognini is trying to become the third Italian man to crack the Top 10 of the ATP Rankings. Furthermore, the nine-time ATP Tour champion can become the oldest player to reach the milestone for the first time since 38-year-old Ken Rosewall and 35-year-old Rod Laver on 23 August 1973, when the ATP Rankings were first established.

Corrado Barazzutti was the last Italian in the elite group the week of 22 January 1979. The only other Italian to break into the Top 10 was Adriano Panatta, who ascended as high as World No. 4 (24 August 1976).

Italians To Crack The Top 15

The Russians are trying to become the first men from their country to crack the Top 10 since Mikhail Youzhny the week of 17 January 2011. If both Khachanov and Medvedev break into the Top 10, it will be the first time that two Russians are in the elite group since the week of 11 October 2010, when Nikolay Davydenko was No. 6 and Youzhny No. 8.