Carlos Alcaraz in danger of alarming rankings collapse ahead of Daniil Medvedev clash

Carlos Alcaraz has been a shining star of Wimbledon so far, but the defending champion is facing a rankings nightmare if he loses his semi-final against Daniil Medvedev on Friday.

Alcaraz headed into Wimbledon with 2,000 ranking points to defend after his memorable win against Novak Djokovic in last year’s final.

Anything less than a repeat of that success in a final that would probably be against Djokovic once again would mean a slide in Alcaraz’s ranking points.

Yet a defeat against Medvedev in their last four clash would be especially damaging, as it would see him fall behind his Russian in the rankings and down to No 5 when the ATP list is updated on Monday.

That would be significant as it could see Alcaraz seeded at No 5 for the US Open next month, opening the possibility for him to play one of the top four seeds in the quarter-finals in New York.

Conceivably, that scenario could see Alcaraz play Medvedev in the last eight of the US Open, 24-time Grand Slam king Djokovic in the semi-finals and Jannik Sinner in the final.

The big winner in the ATP Rankings race at Wimbledon is already out of the tournament, with Germany’s Alexander Zverev currently sitting at No 3 in the live ATP rankings.

Medvedev will move up to No 4 if he beats Alcaraz, with Sinner’s position as world No 1 secure for now despite his defeat against Medvedev in the quarter-finals.

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Alcaraz will head into his semi-final against Medvedev as the firm favourite after he beat the Russian in convincing fashion at the same stage of last year’s Wimbledon.

He has also won his last two matches against Medvedev and holds a 4-2 winning record in their head-to-head, but he was beaten by the Russian in last year’s US Open semi-finals.

Medvedev believes his win against Sinner in the last round could be significant as he looks to halt a losing run against Alcaraz.

“For me what was important as I lost five times to him,” said Medvedev as he looked back on the win against Sinner in the last round.

“A lot of close matches. The last one was super easy for him. It can happen. It’s okay. For me it was important to come out and show that we going to play probably many more times if we are both on tour, probably semis, quarters, finals, whatever.

“For me, it was important to just show I’m always going to be there, I’m always going to fight, I’m always going to try to make your life difficult.

“Maybe you’re going to win more; maybe I’m going to win more. I don’t know, but I’m going to fight.

“Even if he won, the goal was to show him that every time I’m going to be there to fight and to win.

“Today I managed to do it. Doesn’t mean that next time is going to be the same. That’s a little bit the attitude I have.

“That’s the same with Carlos last year in US Open. That’s going to be same with Carlos in the semi-final.

“To be honest, that’s always my goal to know that whoever comes against me, they can win, they can lose. It’s going to be a tough fight. It’s going to be a great match, great for fans, great for me, great for my opponent.”

The tennis world may be looking forward to a repeat of last year’s Alcaraz vs Djokovic contest in Sunday’s Wimbledon final, but Medvedev is eager to gate-crash that party.