How can Novak Djokovic improve to 5th in ATP Rankings despite not playing in Montreal?

Novak Djokovic is currently sixth in the ATP Rankings and the experienced Serbian can face a huge drop as he's not expected to play in the following weeks.

Currently, the 21-time Grand Slam champion is not allowed to enter Canada and United States and therefore he will almost certainly miss at least three big events. Those are the ATP 1000 events in Montreal and Cincinnati and also the 2022 US Open where Novak Djokovic defends the final.

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The 35-years-old Serbian currently has 4 770 points and is 230 points behind 5th Stefanos Tsitsipas and more than 3 000 points behind world number 1, Daniil Medvedev. However, despite not playing in Montreal, Djokovic can jump Tsitsipas in the ATP Rankings and paradoxically become world number 5 even without playing the tournament.

Last year, the Greek played the semifinals in Toronto and so he defends 360 points this year in Montreal. By just entering the tournament and being the third-seeded, Tsitsipas automatically qualifies for Round of 32 and therefore he can count with 45 points that will be added to his ATP Rankings.

However, if he wants to keep his 5th place, he will need to reach at least quarterfinals this year in Montreal and that can be a tricky task. There is one more player that could jump Djokovic in the ATP Rankings and that is Casper Ruud. However, he will need to reach at least semifinals to overtake the Serbian in the ATP Rankings.

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