Novak Djokovic has moved significantly closer to becoming world No. 1 in the
ATP rankings after defeating
Carlos Alcaraz in their battle for the
Cincinnati Open title this week. This is what the Serb has to do in order to take over the top spot at the
US Open.
23-time Grand Slam champion Djokovic prevailed over current world No. 1 Alcaraz in the final of the Western & Southern Open. Although the Spaniard took the first set, the Serb fought back by winning both tiebreaks in the second and third sets to emerge victorious from the match 5-7, 7-6(7), 7-6(4).
This served as a re-match of the Wimbledon final, where Alcaraz defeated seven-time SW19 champion Djokovic in a five-set thriller to solidify his place as No. 1 in the world. Now, though, it looks as though the 20-year-old is about to lose the top spot.
Djokovic likely to usurp Alcaraz at US Open
After his success at the ATP Masters 1000 event in Cincinnati, it looks as though Djokovic is likely to become world No. 1 again. The 36-year-old holds the record for most time spent at the top by an ATP singles player, currently totaling 389 weeks.
Now, all Djokovic has to do in order to extend that record further is win one match at the US Open, regardless of how well Alcaraz does. This is because Alcaraz is the defending champion, meaning that if he wins the Slam he can still only maintain the 2000 ranking points he received last year.
Meanwhile, Djokovic was absent from last year's major at Flushing Meadows due to his unvaccinated status leading him to be barred from entering the US during the pandemic. This means that he has 0 points to defend at this year's Grand Slam. Moreover, a win in his first round will give him 45 points, which is more than enough to close the 20-point gap between Alcaraz's current 9,815 points and Djokovic's 9,795.
Back-and-forth all season
The two players have been going back-and-forth for the No. 1 spot for most of the season, with two interjections from Daniil Medvedev. Alcaraz won the top spot from Djokovic for two weeks between March and April, before he overtook the Spaniard again for 7 weeks.
Alcaraz then usurped Djokovic for three weeks until the Serb emerged at the top again from June 12 to June 25. Alcaraz has been No. 1 ever since, but it remains to be seen if Djokovic will win it back at he US Open, and if so for how long.
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