Djokovic Eyes Sinner's Top Spot In Olympics Race With Month Remaining

Djokovic Eyes Sinner's Top Spot In Olympics Race With Month Remaining

by Nurein Ahmed

It's now a sprint to the finish line in the Olympics Race as Novak Djokovic and Jannik Sinner battle for the top spot.

The Italian is currently at the top of the race with 8725 points, the bulk of which he earned in 2024 by winning his first Grand Slam at the Australian Open and second career Masters at the Miami Open.

Djokovic, who is still trophyless this season, is second with 7810 points. The Serbian star has destiny in his own hands. Sinner will not play at the Italian Open, which is a major blow not just for the tournament and his home fans but also for his ambitions to become No. 1 before the French Open.

In his absence, World No. 1 Djokovic can take control of the Olympic race if he wins the Italian Open, which offers 1000 points. Alcaraz, who briefly led this race after winning Wimbledon last year, is now in third spot with 6580 points.

Like Sinner, the Spaniard will not be able to add to his tally in Rome after withdrawing from the event due to a forearm injury. If Djokovic wins at the Foro Italico, Alcaraz cannot be the No. 1 seed at the Olympics.

Daniil Medvedev, who is doubtful to defend his title in Rome, is in fourth place, while Andrey Rublev, who won the Madrid Open this past weekend, is in fifth. The two Russians are permitted to play but as neutral athletes.

Alexander Zverev, the defending Tokyo gold medalist, is sixth in the race. Hubert Hurkacz, Alex de Minaur, Grigor Dimitrov, and Stefanos Tsitsipas are all in the Top 10 and will lead their respective countries as the No. 1 players.

Countries like the USA, Argentina, and France have a surplus of representatives in the Top 56. Each nation must select a maximum of four of its best-ranked players.

So players like Frances Tiafoe, Sebastian Korda, Christopher Eubanks, and Marcos Giron are in competition for the next month to outperform one another to join the two favorites for the top two positions for team USA - Taylor Fritz and Ben Shelton.

This race has existed since June 2023, awarding points based on the results of every tournament from every single player in Olympics qualification contention.

The race window is a full year, ending on June 9th. The Top 56 players will enter the Olympics tennis tournament in Paris based on ranking as of June 10th, 2024.

2024 Olympics Men's Race as of May 7th, 2024:

Rank Player Points
1 Jannik Sinner 8 725
2 Novak Djokovic 7 820
3 Carlos Alcaraz 6 580
4 Daniil Medvedev 6 195
5 Andrey Rublev 4 570
6 Alexander Zverev 4 545
7 Hubert Hurkacz 3 605
8 Alex de Minaur 3 355
9 Grigor Dimitrov 3 195
10 Stefanos Tsitsipas 3 150
11 Casper Ruud 2 985
12 Taylor Fritz 2 655
13 Ben Shelton 2 450
14 Holger Rune 2 300
15 Ugo Humbert 2 250
16 Tommy Paul 2 175
17 Alexander Bublik 2 010
18 Adrian Mannarino 1 855
19 Sebastian Baez 1 840
20 Felix Auger-Aliassime 1 825
21 Karen Khachanov 1 640
22 Jiri Lehecka 1 620
23 Tallon Griekspoor 1 540
24 Frances Tiafoe 1 525
25 Sebastian Korda 1 480
26 Francisco Cerundolo 1 370
27 Mariano Navone 1 332
28 Alejandro Tabilo 1 239
29 Nicolas Jarry 1 225
30 Alejandro Davidovich Fokina 1 190
31 Lorenzo Musetti 1 145
32 Gael Monfils 1 110
33 Jordan Thompson 1 101
34 Jack Draper 1 091
35 Cameron Norrie 1 090
36 Roman Safiullin 1 087
37 Fabian Marozsan 1 072
38 Jan-Lennard Struff 1 060
39 Tomas Martin Etcheverry 1 010
40 Christopher Eubanks 997
41 Tomas Machac 979
42 Matteo Arnaldi 975
43 Arthur Fils 970
44 Alexei Popyrin 951
45 Laslo Djere 950
46 Luciano Darderi 921
47 Marton Fucsovics 877
48 Nuno Borges 871
49 Marcos Giron 870
50 Pedro Martinez 835
51 Miomir Kecmanovic 820
52 Facundo Diaz Acosta 807
53 Sebastian Ofner 805
53 Flavio Cobolli 805
55 Dusan Lajovic 801
56 Alex Michelsen 795
57 Daniel Evans 785
58 Lorenzo Sonego 781
59 Pavel Kotov 774
60 Zhizhen Zhang 766
61 Alexander Shevchenko 760
62 Jaume Munar 755
63 Federico Coria 751
64 Christopher O'Connell 746
65 Roberto Carballes Baena 726
66 Arthur Cazaux 725
67 Mackenzie McDonald 725
68 Emil Ruusuvuori 720
69 Luca Nardi 712
70 Dominik Koepfer 711
71 Jakub Mensik 708
72 Thiago Seyboth Wild 702
73 Rinky Hijikata 698
74 Arthur Rinderknech 674
75 Taro Daniel 665
76 Brandon Nakashima 660
77 Aleksandar Kovacevic 658
78 Roberto Bautista Agut 658
79 Borna Coric 654
80 Corentin Moutet 645
81 Matteo Berrettini 640
82 Constant Lestienne 634
83 Aleksandar Vukic 619
84 Aslan Karatsev 615
85 Daniel Altmaier 612
86 Hugo Gaston 610
87 Sumit Nagal 603
88 Maximilian Marterer 602
89 Yannick Hanfmann 601
90 Andy Murray 600
91 James Duckworth 597
92 Max Purcell 590
93 Stan Wawrinka 580
94 Daniel Elahi Galan 571
95 Albert Ramos-Vinolas 568
96 Luca Van Assche 568
97 Juncheng Shang 565
98 Camilo Ugo Carabelli 564
99 Cristian Garin 563
100 Thiago Monteiro 559

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