MOSCOW, January 27 (R-Sport) – Maria Sharapova fell to fifth place in the Women's Tennis Association rankings Monday after her surprise fourth-round exit from the Australian Open.
The 26-year-old Russian, who recently returned to the court after a shoulder injury but was seeded third at Melbourne Park, failed to defend her points from last year’s semifinal, losing to the eventual runner-up Dominika Cibulkova in three sets. Following her first Grand Slam final, the Slovak leaped 11 places straight to the 13th.
Meanwhile, champion Li Na rose to third place and Poland’s Agnieszka Radwanska overtook Sharapova and into the No. 4 spot.
After reaching her maiden Grand Slam quarterfinal, Simona Halep entered the top 10 for the first time in her career, rising one place to squeeze out Caroline Wozniacki.
Serena Williams still reigns at the top with almost twice as many points as second-placed Viktoria Azarenka.
In the men’s rankings, surprise Melbourne champion Stanislas Wawrinka climbed to his career high third spot, behind only Novak Djokovic and his Australian Open final opponent Rafael Nadal, who remains at the summit.
Despite an early second-round exit, Juan Martin Del Potro rose to fourth place, while David Ferrer, Andy Murray and Roger Federer all lost two spots, descending to the fifth, sixth and eighth, respectively.
For the four-time Australian Open champion Federer, this week’s ranking is his lowest since he joined the tennis elite in 2002.
Elsewhere, Mikhail Youzhny moved one place up to the 14th, while Teymuraz Gabashvili, who was the only Russian male player to make into the third round, won 16 positions to rise to 63rd.
