Battle for world No 1 ranking: Novak Djokovic’s defeat opens door for Carlos Alcaraz and Daniil Medvedev

Shahida Jacobs 14 Apr 2023 7:44 AM

Just a week ago Novak Djokovic looked a safe bet to remain top of the ATP Rankings until at least the French Open, but throw in a shock defeat at the Monte Carlo Masters coupled with Daniil Medvedev’s superb form and suddenly the picture is not so clear.

Djokovic returned to No 1 in the world on the back of Carlos Alcaraz’s failure to successfully defend his Miami Open title and the 22-time Grand Slam winner started the clay-court season with a 380-point cushion at the top.

With Alcaraz ruled out of the Monte Carlo Masters due to injury, Djokovic was the clear favourite for the trophy in the Principality and a title run would have given him a comfortable 1,380 lead at the top.

But there are no safe bets in sport as Djokovic was stunned by Lorenzo Musetti in the third round of the ATP Masters 1000 event on Thursday, meaning he will only add 80 points to his tally when the ATP Rankings are updated on Monday.

With Medvedev still in the running to win the title in Monte Carlo, it means it is very much a three-way battle for the No 1 ranking over the next few weeks.

State of play in the ATP Rankings

Djokovic is officially on 7,160 points at the top and he is followed by Alcaraz (6,780), Stefanos Tsitsipas (5,770), Casper Ruud (5,255) and Medvedev (5,150).

However, Tsitsipas is the defending champion in Monte Carlo so he won’t add points while Ruud suffered a second-round defeat.

Following Thursday’s third-round results, the Live ATP Rankings state of play reads: Djokovic 7,240, Alcaraz 6,770, Ruud 5,255 and Medvedev 5,240.

Medvedev is the only player still in the running for the title and if he is the last man standing on Sunday then he will move to 6,060 points, just 1,180 points adrift of Djokovic.

How many points are they defending until the French Open?

Djokovic has 1,1510 points (Belgrade – 150 points, Madrid – 360 points and Rome – 1,000 points) to defend until Roland Garros while Alcaraz has 1,500 points (Barcelona – 500 points, Madrid – 1,000 points and Rome – 0) to defend until the clay season comes to a conclusion in Paris.

But what about Medvedev?

Well, Medvedev was injured during the start of the clay-court season last year and he only played in the Geneva Open before Roland Garros, losing in the second round in Switzerland so he has no points to defend.

The 2021 US Open champion has entered next week’s Barcelona Open along with defending champion Alcaraz and 500 ranking points will be up for grabs. Medvedev will no doubt look to chip away at Djokovic’s lead at the top while Alcaraz is helpless as he can’t add any points to his total as defending champion.

Djokovic, meanwhile, needs to go one better at the Srpska Open in Banja Luka if he is to pick up more points as last year he finished runner-up.

But with 1,000 points up for grabs at both the Madrid Open and Italian Open, the race for the No 1 ranking ahead of the French Open is far from over.