No. 1 Roger Federer, +1
Five years and 106 days since his last reign at the top of the ATP Rankings, Roger Federer is back at No. 1 after winning his 97^th tour-level title at the ABN AMRO World Tennis Tournament in Rotterdam (d. Dimitrov). Read & Watch Final Highlights

The 36-year-old Swiss starts his 303^rd week at No. 1, more than 14 years after first rising to the top spot on 2 February, 2004. He is guaranteed to remain atop the ATP Rankings until at least 18 March. He and Rafael Nadal will resume their tussle for the top spot at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, the first ATP World Tour Masters 1000 tournament of the year, which begins on 8 March.

Federer’s return to No. 1 means Nadal slips to No. 2 in the ATP Rankings, while Rotterdam runner-up, Grigor Dimitrov, bumps Alexander Zverev out of the Top 4. Marin Cilic remains at No. 3.

No. 9 Kevin Anderson, +2
Kevin Anderson captured his fourth ATP World Tour title at the inaugural New York Open – beating Kei Nishikori and Sam Querrey in third set tie-breaks in the semi-finals and final – and is rewarded with a return to the Top 10 at No. 9. Read Final Report

READ: Anderson Focuses On Continuing His Climb

No. 31 Andrey Rublev, +3
Next Gen ATP star Andrey Rublev inched towards a Top 30 breakthrough, rising to No. 31 after reaching the Rotterdam quarter-finals (l. to Dimitrov). The 20-year-old Russian, who was runner-up at the Next Gen ATP Finals in Milan (l. to Chung), has made a strong start to the 2018 season. He reached the quarter-finals in Montpellier one week earlier (l. to Tsonga).

No. 43 Aljaz Bedene, +8
Aljaz Bedene is celebrating a new career-high of No. 43 after rising eight places in the ATP Rankings following his runner-up showing in Buenos Aires (l. to Thiem). It was the 28-year-old Slovenian’s third final appearance on the ATP World Tour.

READ: Ruthless Thiem Streaks To Buenos Aires Title

No. 50 Daniil Medvedev, +7; No. 59 Andreas Seppi, +22
Elsewhere, Daniil Medvedev returned to the Top 50 after a quarter-final run in Rotterdam, while former Top 20 star, Andreas Seppi, surged 22 spots to reclaim a place in the Top 60 (No. 59) after upsetting Zverev en route to the Rotterdam semi-finals (l. to Federer). The Italian is on the rise in the ATP Rankings this season, winning the Canberra Challenger title and making the fourth round of the Australian Open to claw his way back up from a position of No. 86 at the start of the season.

The third event of South America’s “Golden Swing” gets underway this week, and while Carnival might be coming to a close, the party was just beginning for the players in action at the Rio Open presented by Claro in Brazil. 

Before they took to the court, some of the ATP World Tour’s top players took in the sights and sounds of Brazil’s “Marvelous City.” 

The top-seeded Cilic, who will be playing for the first time in Rio, climbed to the top of the 30-meter tall “Christ the Redeemer” statue that overlooks Rio. The world No. 3 found the experience both enthralling and spiritual. 

“Just getting to the feet of ‘Christ the Redeemer’ wasn’t easy,” Cilic said. “It was windy and the machine that took us up there was swaying. Even when we were inside the statue it wasn’t easy to climb; the stairway was narrow and quite steep. But up there at the top, it was an incredible feeling. It’s an overcast day; the few moments it wasn’t cloudy, I enjoyed it. My legs are still shaking and my heart is beating faster than usual. I’m also quite religious so that’s just one more thing that made this so special.”

Later that day, Cilic joined Fabio Fognini and doubles duo Lukasz Kubot and Marcelo Melo in the Carnival Champions parade, a public procession that celebrates the city’s samba schools and the music’s roots. 

Fognini, the tournament’s fifth seed, had a good time, even if he had trouble keeping with the rhythm. “I ‘tried’ to dance,” Fognini said. “I was sweating a lot. It’s tough to describe because it was so unique.”

Melo, a quarter-finalist at last year’s event and a finalist at the 2017 Nitto ATP Finals alongside Kubot, was still thankful to take part in the parade. “It was fantastic, so amazing,” the Brazilian said. “I’m thankful to have had the opportunity to do this.”

Kubot, his teammate, agreed: “This is unbelievable, unreal. This is a great atmosphere, and I’m so thankful to be here.”

The calendar might say mid-February, but to Jack Sock, this week’s Delray Beach Open feels more like the beginning of the season than the ASB Classic did in January.

Sock headed to Auckland still feeling tired from his unpredictable end to 2017. The 25-year-old won the Rolex Paris Masters title and climbed 16 places in the ATP Race To London – from 24^th to eighth – to qualify for the Nitto ATP Finals in London for the first time.

But the later end to his season – late November instead of early October/early November – threw off Sock’s schedule. He flew to New Zealand without his usual off-season training, and it showed on the court. Sock won just one set during his two matches at the ASB Classic and the Australian Open.

“I went down to Australia with not as much confidence in my physical part. The year prior I ended with a month and a half training straight, felt really strong and mentally fresh. This year was kind of the opposite. Didn’t feel as great physically. Mentally, I was still a little tired,” Sock said. “No excuses at all for my part, just a different feel.”

After his trip Down Under, however, Sock trained for a month straight and is feeling fit to defend his Delray Beach Open title this week.

“I look different. I feel different in my head. I’m excited to get my season started now and leave January behind me,” Sock said.

The lessons learned are to be expected for Sock, who spent much of last season in new territory. The No. 1 American had the best season of his career, winning three titles – Auckland, Delray Beach and Paris. Before 2017, he had captured only one ATP World Tour crown – 2015 Houston.

He also posted his best performance at ATP World Tour Masters 1000 tournaments, making the BNP Paribas semi-finals in March (l. Federer) before winning Paris in November (d. Krajinovic). Sock cracked the Top 10 of the ATP Rankings as well.

“It was a blessing to play London and to have won Paris,” he said.

But the whirlwind year has also changed how Sock and his team look at his schedule. In 2017, the right-hander played Top 5 tennis in the beginning and end of the year. But he struggled in the middle, going 8-11 from May to mid-October. Fatigue was partly to blame, said Mike Wolf, who’s been a part of Sock’s coaching team since he was 10.

From late March to early May, Sock flew from Miami to Australia (Davis Cup) to Houston and then to Europe for the clay-court swing. It was all maybe too much for the American, who had finished 2016 playing 33 matches in 33 days.

“He just wasn’t in a good place because he played a ton of tennis at the end of [2016] and worked really hard in the off-season,” Wolf told ATPWorldTour.com. “You just cannot be at tournaments or be at the practice courts and not be ready to give your full effort.”

This season, Wolf and Sock’s team have already adjusted the American’s schedule to avoid a prolonged dip. Sock, a Davis Cup regular, skipped the U.S.’ first-round match against Serbia earlier this month.

“I know it’s going to be a long year. Starting in Delray I have a seven-week trip coming up… I need to pick and choose the right time to play based on my mental state, my physical state,” Sock said.

The World No. 8 is the top seed in a stacked Delray Beach Open draw, which features five former champions: Sock, Juan Martin del Potro (2011), Kevin Anderson (2012), Sam Querrey (2016) and Ivo Karlovic (2015). Sock received a walkover during last year’s final against Milos Raonic, who’s also seeded this week.

But the past is the past to Sock, who’s feeling better than he has in months, and is hoping that shows on the court this week. “[I] hope I can play and the way I want to play, starting in Delray and the for the rest of the year and leave January behind me,” he said.