Novak Djokovic won't be competing in any ATP tournaments in the coming weeks, and that will cost him some part of his lead.
Currently, the experienced Serbian comfortably sits atop the ATP Rankings, with his lead being 3260 points ahead of his closest competitor, who is no other than the 20-year-old superstar, Carlos Alcaraz.
Djokovic became the world no. 1 again after the 2023 US Open, and all he needed to do in the Flushing Meadows was to win his first-round match. That was because of one simple fact: his opponent was defending 2000 points as a champion, while he wasn't defending any points due to missing the event last year.
Coming into the Asian swing, the tables have turned. Djokovic won the Tel Aviv Open and the Astana Open last year, while Alcaraz has been sidelined. Because of that, the Spaniard has no points to defend in this part of the season, while the Serb will drop some.
He will drop his first points already during the week when Alcaraz competes at the 2023 China Open in Beijing, as Djokovic won't defend his 250 points from the Tel Aviv Open, which has been moved in the calendar this year.
After that, the 36-year-old has also elected to skip any ATP action, meaning that he will drop also his 500 points from the Astana Open triumph last year, a tournament which has been demoted into an ATP 250 event in 2023.
With that being said, the world number one spot is still pretty much out of the reach for Alcaraz. Djokovic's point total will drop from 11795 points to 11045 points, and since the 20-year-old has 8535 points, with triumphs at the China Open and Shanghai Masters, he can increase his total only to 10035 points.
However, the final world no. 1 showdown will come during the Paris Masters and the ATP Finals, where Djokovic defends 2100 points, thanks to reaching the final in the French capital, and winning the year-end competition without dropping a single match.
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