Novak Djokovic and Jannik Sinner are set to battle for the World No. 1 at Roland Garros, but the permutations have changed a little since the Serbian chose to play in the Geneva Open.
For just the third time in his career, Djokovic will play an ATP 250 a week before a Grand Slam tournament. He took many by surprise when he accepted a late wild card in Geneva, where he was ranked the top seed.
Having lost in the third round at the Italian Open to Alejandro Tabilo, Djokovic felt undercooked about defending his title in Paris. The French Open will begin on May 26th, and Djokovic does not control his destiny.
Because the 24-time Grand Slam winner is the defending champion at Roland Garros, he can't gain points. However, he can add to his tally this week in Geneva up to a maximum of 250, which could have a major impact on the rankings projection after the clay Grand Slam. Here's how:
Djokovic and Sinner World No. 1 battle At Roland Garros
Djokovic won his opening match in Geneva, beating Yannick Hanfmann in straight sets to celebrate his 37th birthday. He will face either Denis Shapovalov or Tallon Griekspoor in the quarterfinal.
Let's consider the ideal scenario. Should Djokovic win Geneva, he will tally 10110 points before Roland Garros. He is scheduled to drop 2000 points in Paris. So, in the live rankings in Paris, the Serbian will have 8110 points.
Sinner has a total of 8770 points and drops only 45 points in the next fortnight. So the Italian will be the World No. 1 in the live rankings with 8725 points. To remain there after the tournament, the Italian must win the French Open, to be absolutely certain.
A second scenario would depend on how Djokovic performs in Geneva. If he reaches the final but doesn't win the title, he will clock 10,025 points. We might have a potential shootout for the No. 1 ranking in a winner-take-all Roland Garros final between Djokovic and Sinner.
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