Carlos Alcaraz will retain his number one ranking during the North American swing, but Novak Djokovic has truncated his slender lead in the latest ATP rankings.
Alcaraz led Djokovic by almost 900 points after defeating him in the Wimbledon final in mid-July. But given that he was defending runner-up points from two clay-court tournaments after Wimbledon, that lead has now been reduced to precisely 430 points.
Alcaraz forfeited 300 points for his no-show in Hamburg, and he also skipped the ATP 250 event in Umag where he lost Jannik Sinner in last year's final, dropping a further 150 points and that could set up for an intriguing finale in the second half of the season.
Although the number one ranking will unlikely change hands before the start of the US Open, Djokovic is breathing down Alcaraz's neck. The 23-time Grand Slam winner is in second place on 8,795 points, while Alcaraz is top on 9,225 points.
The Serbian star has confirmed his absence at this year's Canadian Open citing the need for more rest time. Consequently, Alcaraz will have the chance to rack up some valuable points considering he lost in the second round last season.
Elsewhere, there are new career highs in the Top 100 of the ATP rankings. Australia's Alexei Popyrin returned to the winner's podium following his terrific week in Umag. Popyrin won the second ATP title of his career at the Croatian Open, beating three-time Grand Slam champion Stan Wawrinka in three sets.
Popyrin vaulted to inside the Top 60, sitting at a career-high world number 57, which is 33 spots higher than his ranking at the start of last week. Popyrin isn't the only Aussie who made strides in the latest rankings but beaten Atlanta finalist Aleksandar Vukic cracked the Top 70 for the first time.
Vukic is also enjoying a fine season in 2023 and he is making steady progress at 27. The new world number 62 pushed American Taylor Fritz to three sets in the Atlanta final at the weekend, taking his win-loss tally for the season to 42-23 across all competitions.
There is no movement in the world's Top 10, but Taylor Fritz has established some daylight between him and Frances Tiafoe. By winning his second title of the year, Fritz sits in ninth spot on 3,515 which is slightly over 400 points ahead of his compatriot in 10th place.
Christopher Eubanks' season is also getting better, with the Atlanta native cracking the Top 30 for the first time following his quarterfinal run at his home tournament. Eubanks will have destiny in his own hands as he eyes a seeding spot at the final Slam of the season.
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