Jannik Sinner's hopes of retaining the World No. 1 ranking have received a mighty boost following the announcement that his closest challengers will not be competing at the Canadian Open.
The North American hard-court swing has officially begun, with several ATP stars already in Montreal, Canada, preparing for the 1000-level tournament. This year, the event will begin on Tuesday, August 6th, because of the Olympic Games.
However, as expected, some big names will be missing from the tournament because of their participation in the Olympics. Two of those include Novak Djokovic and Carlos Alcaraz, who will contest the gold medal match in Paris on Sunday.
The duo will play in the main event of the Olympic tennis tournament, seeking their first gold medal. Djokovic, at 37, is the oldest Olympic singles finalist in history, while Alcaraz, at 21, is the youngest finalist since 1988.
Djokovic is competing in his fifth Olympics but has never won gold or silver medals in his last four appearances. But that will change this year as he will guarantee Serbia its best-ever podium finish at the Games.
Meanwhile, Alcaraz can chart his way into history by replicating countryman Rafael Nadal's feat of winning a gold medal at the Olympics. He will be the heavy favorite after outclassing the Serb in their last meeting in the Wimbledon final.
Both men will undoubtedly prioritize rest and recovery from a very demanding week of clay-court tennis. Neither of them played in any warm-up tournaments after their bout at SW19.
Djokovic and Alcaraz were mathematically in with a chance of clinching the No. 1 ranking at the end of the Canadian Open in Montreal. Jannik Sinner, who withdrew from the Olympics because of illness, will be able to defend his title in Canada.
Sinner is dropping 1000 points when the tournament begins. Djokovic did not compete when the event was staged in Toronto 12 months ago. Instead, he had an opportunity to gain 1000 points and make up for the Italian's precarious lead.
Alcaraz, meanwhile, reached the quarterfinals in Canada last year and is losing only 180 points. By contrast, Sinner is dropping 1000 points. His tally will stand at 8580 (he will automatically defend 10 points for a first-round bye).
Djokovic and Alcaraz don't receive any ranking points from the Olympics but would have started the summer hard-court wing with 8460 and 7950 points, respectively.
The 37-year-old Djokovic, who has won the Canadian Open four times in the past, had a better chance of reclaiming the World No. 1 ranking than Alcaraz, as he would trail Sinner by 120 points.
But their absences will now mean Sinner doesn't need to defend the title to remain World No. 1. Still, the Italian, who turns 23 very soon, will extend his reign to double-digit weeks (he is currently on eight weeks as No. 1).
The draw for the 2024 edition has been released. Sinner starts his campaign in the second round against Pedro Martinez or a qualifier. He is projected to meet Daniil Medvedev in the semifinal.
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