Djokovic To Keep World No. 1 Spot For Extended Period Thanks To Alcaraz's Injury

| by Alfredo Bassanelli

Novak Djokovic became the world no. 1 again on Monday and now he's set to extend his stay atop of the rankings for a longer period.

The Serb started already his 381st week as the highest-ranked player on the ATP Tour, further extending his record, which was previously held by Steffi Graf with 377 weeks. Now, Djokovic can look forward to adding a few more weeks to his record as his biggest rival for the no. 1 spot, Carlos Alcaraz, withdrew from the upcoming Monte-Carlo Masters.

Last year, both players faced a disappointing early exit in Monte Carlo. While the Serb lost to Alejandro Davidovich Fokina in the second round, Alcaraz faced an exit in the same stage of the event, losing to Sebastian Korda.

Therefore, at this year's tournament, they could increase their points total, while the third man in the ATP Rankings, Stefanos Tsitsipas is defending his triumph and therefore also 1000 points from the tournament.

Djokovic Returns To World No. 1 As Medvedev Moves To 4th In ATP Rankings
Djokovic Returns To World No. 1 As Medvedev Moves To 4th In ATP Rankings

That means that after the Monte-Carlo Masters, only Djokovic and Alcaraz had a chance to be the world no. 1, and with the Spaniard's withdrawal, the 22-time Grand Slam champion will now stay there for at least four more weeks until the Madrid Open where his competitors will have a chance to dethrone him.

But that will happen only if the Serb doesn't do well in Monte Carlo. Since Alcaraz is defending the triumph in Madrid, he will find himself at least 1370 points behind Djokovic, provided the Serb doesn't add any more points, what is highly unlikely.

That means, that most probably, Djokovic's closest competitor for the top spot will be the current ATP Race leader, Daniil Medvedev, who is currently 2000 points behind the Serb, but since he missed last year's clay-court season due to surgery, he doesn't have any points to defend.

Djokovic now needs to add only 500 points in Monte Carlo and Madrid, to be sure to stay the world no. 1 at least until the Italian Open, where he should be also first-seeded.

Djokovic Presented With Golden Opportunity After Alcaraz & Nadal Withdraw From Monte Carlo
Djokovic Presented With Golden Opportunity After Alcaraz & Nadal Withdraw From Monte Carlo

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