ATP battle for world No 1 ranking: Five in the hunt to take top spot from Novak Djokovic

Novak Djokovic will remain top of the ATP Rankings until at least May 21 and Carlos Alcaraz is the favourite to usurp him, but there are four other contenders in the running for the world No 1 ranking.

22-time Grand Slam winner Djokovic, currently in his eighth stint at the top, is currently in the driver’s seat as he has been top of the list since passing Alcaraz on April 3 and he will remain there until after the Italian Open.

He is currently on a record 384 weeks at No 1 and he will extend that record to at least 387 weeks as none of the chasing pack can overtake him until the rankings are updated the Monday after the conclusion of the ATP Masters event in Rome.

Besides Alcaraz, Daniil Medvedev, Casper Ruud, Stefanos Tsitsipas and Andrey Rublev are all gunning for top spot with three of those players (Ruud, Tsitsipas and Rublev) looking to become world No 1 for the first time in their careers.

Medvedev spent a total of 16 weeks at No 1 over two stints in 2022 while Alcaraz has 14 weeks behind his name at the top of the rankings.

Current state of affairs in ATP Rankings

Djokovic leads the way with 7,135 points and he is followed by Alcaraz (6,770), Medvedev (5,240), Ruud (5,210), Tsitsipas (5,195) and Rublev (4,280).

Although the Madrid Open is up next with 1,000 points on offer for the winner, there is no chance of Djokovic being bumped off top spot even though he is not playing as Alcaraz is the defending champion while the rest are too far behind.

Things though will get interesting in Rome as Djokovic is the defending champion while Alcaraz doesn’t have any points to defend as he missed the tournament last year due to injury.

If Alcaraz defends his title in Madrid, then the Spaniard will regain top spot in the rankings just by playing in the first round at Foro Italico – even if Djokovic ends up winning the Italian Open again.

The reason?

Djokovic is dropping 360 points as he won’t play in Madrid, leaving him on 6,775 and if he defends his title in Rome he will stay on that tally. Alcaraz, meanwhile, will remain on 6,770 if he wins in the Spanish capital and players earn 10 points for a first-round appearance at ATP Masters events so that would put him on 6,780.

Of course, the above are all hypothetical scenarios.

Who are the other dangermen?

Medvedev is lurking precariously close as he doesn’t have any points to defend in either Madrid or Rome and he is “technically” just 535 points behind Djokovic. If he wins one of the upcoming Masters events and enjoys a decent run at the other then he will become the world No 1.

It is a bit more complicated for Ruud, Tsitsipas and Rublev as the former would need to pick up the maximum of 1,000 points at either events and reach at least the semi-finals of the other to have a chance.

Tsitsipas, meanwhile, also needs to win one tournament and make the final of the other to have any hope of becoming world No 1 while Rublev needs to be the last man standing in both Madrid and Rome.