Djokovic extends lead as world no. 1

LONDON (Agencies): Novak Djokovic stretched his lead over Rafael Nadal at the top of the ATP rankings on Monday, after the Spaniard’s failed bid to win a 12th Monte Carlo Masters title. Djokovic, winner of the last three Grand Slam tournaments, is now over 3,000 points clear of old rival Nadal despite a quarter-final defeat by Daniil Medvedev in the Principality last week. World number two Nadal dropped ranking points after his title defence ended with a shock semi-final loss to eventual champion Fabio Fognini.

The 31-year-old Italian reached a career-high ranking of 12th after claiming his maiden Masters trophy with a straight-sets win over unheralded Serbian Dusan Lajovic in Sunday’s final. Fognini jumped six spots to close on the top 10, while Lajovic climbed 24 places to 24th.