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World No. 1 Novak Djokovic will at least extend his record time in the ATP rankings with the next two improvements.
Djokovic’s lead over world No. 2 Carlos Alcaraz could shrink if the Spaniard can repeat his Barcelona-Madrid double from last season.
The Serbian pulled out of the Madrid Open in the semifinals after suffering an elbow injury from last season’s match against Banja Luka.
Djokovic’s early exit in Banja Luka saw him clear 105 ranking points this week and take another 360 from the Madrid exit, but the total will not fall short of Alcaraz’s highest possible score.
A previous defeat for Alcaraz in Madrid could see him drop a rung or two in Madrid.
Only Casper Rude and Daniil Medvedev are in contention, both looking to win the tournament or make a run to the final ahead of Alcaraz.
Stefanos Tsitsipas looks unlikely to retain his place as world No. 5 in Madrid, having moved on to the Barcelona Open final.
Tsitsipas Munich and Banja Luka finalists Holger Ruhn and Andrey Rublev are trying to shut him down.
Greece’s No. 1 In 2022, he will have the task of defending his points from the last four Madrid Open tournaments.
Meanwhile, an early exit from Madrid could see 2022 finalist Alexander Zverev drop out of the top 20.
If former Masters champions Hubert Hurkach or Cameron Norrie can add the Madrid title to their collection, they will return to the top ten.
Currently ranked 10th in the ATP Live Rankings, he leads Taylor Fritz from 15 Herkacz with 630 points.
Hurcak suffered a quarter-final defeat in Madrid last season which means he is not under any major pressure and a deep run could make a big push this time around.
Norrie was out of the 2022 Madrid Open in the third round, and if he finds his game on clay, he’s in a good position to make a run at the top ten next week.
Francis Tiafoe could be the new US No. 1 if things go his way in Madrid.
Tiafoe is currently world No. 11 behind American Fritz at No. 10.
There are now two teenagers in the top ten in Holger Run and Carlos Alcaraz, while the next highest ranked under-20 player, 18-year-old Frenchman Luca van Asse, is back at world No.86.
Read more: Novak Djokovic’s reaction to latest shock defeat can be telling.
