Novak Djokovic and Carlos Alcaraz could drop several spots in ATP Rankings
Novak Djokovic will slip out of the top three in the ATP Rankings for the first time since the start of the 2023 season following his shock loss at the US Open.
Tennis great Djkovic’s hopes of winning a record-extending 25th Grand Slam and a 100th career trophy with a title run at Flushing Meadows were ended by Alexei Popyrin in stunning fashion in the third round.
The world No 2 went down 6-4, 6-4, 2-6, 6-4 against the 28th seed from Australia, who won the biggest title of his career earlier in August when he lifted his maiden ATP Masters 1000 trophy at the Canadian Open.
Popyrin will face Frances Tiafoe for a place in the quarter-final while Djokovic will end the year without a Grand Slam for the first time since 2017.
As the defending champion, Djokovic will drop 1,900 points over the fortnight and he has provisionally dropped to No 4 in the Live Rankings – his lowest position since January 2023 as he started the year at No 5. The last time he was outside the top 5 was in November 2022.
After winning the Australian Open last year, the Serbian returned to No 1 and has alternated between the No 1, No 2 and No 3 positions with Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz over the past 19 months.
Sinner, who became world No 1 for the first time in June, will remain at the top of the rankings after the US Open and he will most likely be followed by Alexander Zverev, who has moved up to No 2 with Alcaraz at No 3.
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Alcaraz himself was stunned in the second round at Flushing Meadows as he lost in straight sets against Botic van de Zandschulp on Thursday and most predicted he would drop behind Djokovic after the US Open as the Serbian was widely expected to reach the business end of the tournament.
But Djokovic’s defeat means he stays at No 3 for now at least as can still be overtaken by Daniil Medvedev.
ATP Live Rankings After Djokovic Defeat
1. Jannik Sinner – 9,280 points
2. Alexander Zverev – 6,775
3. Carlos Alcaraz – 6,690
4. Novak Djokovic – 5,560
5. Daniil Medvedev – 5,175
6. Andrey Rublev – 4,645
7. Hubert Hurkacz – 4,060
8. Casper Ruud – 4,010
9. Grigor Dimitrov – 3,765
Djokovic, meanwhile, could still drop further as he could be overtaken by the likes of Medvedev, Rublev, Ruud and Dimitrov, but they would need deep runs and in most cases win the title.
For example, Dimitrov can only surpass Djokovic if he wins the title as that would put him on 5,565 points.
