Djokovic remains number one in the world despite not playing well
Djokovic suffered a 105 point deduction for his early elimination at Banja Luka last week. He will also lose 360 points after withdrawing from the Madrid Masters due to injury. However, this drop in points did not make Djokovic lose his world number one position. He is still 365 points ahead of second person Carlos Alcaraz.
Alcaraz can close the gap with Djokovic if he repeats the double winning Barcelona Open and Madrid Masters. The Spanish talent completed half the task when he defeated Stefanos Tsitsipas in the final of the Barcelona Open on the afternoon of April 23.
In the event of an early elimination in Madrid, Alcaraz could lose the world number two spot to Casper Ruud or Daniil Medvedev, should these two reach the final. The distance between Alcaraz and Medvedev is 1,530 points, while the Russian player is only 30 points more than Ruud.
Tsitsipas with the final of the Barcelona Open holds on to fifth place with 5,195 points. He is nearly 1,000 points better than the man behind Andrey Rulev. Both Rublev and Holger Rune have played well recently and have a chance to improve the rankings if they maintain their form.
Rune and Alcaraz are the two youngest players in the top 10 ATP. The next highest ranked teen is 18-year-old talent Luca van Assche at 86th.
Djokovic's absence helps Alcaraz be the number one seed at Madrid Masters this week. He could meet last year's runner-up Alexander Zverev in the fourth round. Zverev, if he fails to defend his score at this year's Madrid Masters, may fall out of the top 20 ATP.
Alcaraz's quarter-final draw also includes Andrey Rublev and Karen Khachanov. If he reaches the semi-finals, the 19-year-old can play two high-seeded Casper Ruud and Holger Rune. The lower branch had Medvedev seeded second, Tsitsipas seeded fourth, and two others in the top eight seeded Felix Auger-Aliassime and Taylor Fritz. Fritz was promoted to 8th seed after Jannik Sinner withdrew due to illness.
This year's Madrid Masters are still missing the record five-time champion Rafael Nadal - who if he attends will be the 14th seed. Matteo Berrettini is also absent due to an abdominal muscle injury, while both Marin Cilic and Nick Kyrgios have knee pain. .
