Carlos Alcaraz changed Novak Djokovic at No. 1 within the ATP rankings, incomes the highest seeding on the French Open, and Daniil Medvedev’s Italian Open title moved him as much as No. 2 forward of the 12 months’s second Grand Slam match.
Djokovic’s loss within the fourth spherical because the defending champion in Rome dropped him to No. 3. That means he and Alcaraz may find yourself in the identical half of the Roland Garros bracket and be arrange for a possible semifinal showdown, relying on what occurs in Thursday’s attract Paris.
The French Open, which begins on Sunday, will mark the primary probability to be seeded No. 1 at a serious match for Alcaraz, a Spaniard who turned 20 this month. He is 30-3 with 4 titles in 2023.
Alcaraz ascended to the ATP’s high spot for the primary time by successful the U.S. Open final September and, at 19, turned the youngest man to complete a 12 months there. But a leg harm saved him out of the Australian Open in January, when Djokovic gained the title for his twenty second at a Slam occasion, tying Rafael Nadal for the lads’s report.
Djokovic has spent extra weeks at No. 1 than anybody — man or girl — within the historical past of the game’s computerized rankings.
Iga Swiatek, the defending champion in Paris, remained at No. 1 within the WTA rankings, which she has led for greater than a 12 months, adopted by No. 2 Aryna Sabalenka, the Australian Open champion.
Swiatek stopped taking part in within the third set of her quarterfinal in Rome in opposition to reigning Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina due to a harm proper thigh. Swiatek mentioned afterward the issue “shouldn’t be anything serious.” Rybakina’s trophy on the Italian Open allowed her to leap two locations to a career-best No. 4 on Monday. She will not be increased than that as a result of her title on the All England Club didn’t include the good thing about any rankings increase after each the WTA and ATP withheld all factors that might have been earned there final 12 months to protest a ban on Russian and Belarusian gamers over the invasion of Ukraine.
Jessica Pegula remained at No. 3 on Monday, with WTA Finals champion Caroline Garcia at No. 5 and 2022 French Open runner-up Coco Gauff at No. 6.
Casper Ruud, final 12 months’s runner-up to Rafael Nadal on the French Open and to Alcaraz on the U.S. Open, stayed at No. 4 within the ATP rankings, adopted by Stefanos Tsitsipas at No. 5 and Holger Rune at a career-best No. 6. Rune eradicated Djokovic in Rome earlier than shedding to Medvedev within the remaining there on Sunday.
That marked Medvedev’s twentieth profession ATP title — and first on clay courts.
Nadal, who has 14 of his 22 main trophies at Roland Garros, introduced final week he could be sitting out the French Open with a lingering left hip flexor harm. He has by no means missed that match since making his debut there in 2005. (AP) APA APA