By Chris Oddo | @TheFanChild | Wednesday June 8, 2022
Djokovic's 373rd week atop the ATP's rankings will be his last - at least for a while.
Photo Source: Getty
A quick glance at the live ATP rankings – maybe two quick glances because it is hard to believe – shows that Daniil Medvedev will begin his fourth week atop the ATP rankings next week. That’s because Novak Djokovic’s Roland-Garros points are dropping next week, which means that Medvedev will leapfrog the Serb in the rankings, as will Germany’s Alexander Zverev.
In the meantime, Djokovic enjoys his 373rd week atop the ATP’s rankings – four shy of the all-time record for weeks at No.1, which is held by Steffi Graf (377).
The gap will be large, as Djokovic will be at least 1,030 points behind Medvedev, and potentially more. He will also soon lose Wimbledon points, with no chance to gain any of them back at this year's Championships, as the ATP has made the decision to not hand ranking points out this year in protest to the All England Club’s decision to ban Russian and Belarusian players.
It’s a decision that is supported by Djokovic, though he does bear the brunt of it rankings-wise.
It has been a tough year for Djokovic. It started with him being banned from Australia, where he was unable to defend his 2,000 points at his best tournament. He was unable to play at Indian Wells and Miami due to his decision to remain unvaccinated.
He struggled to find form on the clay after playing just one event – in Dubai in February – prior to April.
“On a personal level, of course, without getting a chance to play and defend, you know, my 4,000 points I'm going to drop in this year, Australia and Wimbledon. So of course on a personal, individual level, I have been very negatively affected by that. But I have been speaking with management and the president of ATP and some of the council members actually in the last few days,” he said a few weeks ago in Paris.
“I think collectively I'm glad that players got together with ATP, the governing body of the men's tennis, and showed to the Grand Slam that, you know, when there is a mistake happening, and there was from the Wimbledon side, then we have to show that there is going to be some consequences.”
On Monday June 13, Djokovic will drop out of the ATP’s Top-2 for the first time since October 8, 2018.
And for the first time since November 16, 2003, the Big Three – Djokovic, Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer – will not be represented in the ATP’s Top-2.
Based on the Roland-Garros points drop, Casper Ruud is likely to rise to No.5 next week unless Stefanos Tsitsipas can put together a strong performance at Stuttgart this week.