How Medvedev's Return To World No. 2 Can Shake Up Roland Garros Draw

Daniil Medvedev will return to No. 2 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings on Monday after defeating Holger Rune at the Internazionali BNL d’Italia for his first clay-court title.

If Medvedev did not lift the trophy, Novak Djokovic would have entered Roland Garros as World No. 2. But now Medvedev is slated to be the second seed at the clay-court major. World No. 1 Carlos Alcaraz will be the first seed and Djokovic the third seed, so they could land in the same half of the draw in Paris.

"If I would be No. 3, I would definitely play one of Alcaraz or Novak if I am in the semi-finals. You definitely have one of them in your draw," Medvedev said. "I guess it's better to be No. 2 and get the chance.  Carlos and I [will not] play for sure before the final, and Novak maybe 50 per cent chance he's not in your draw.  At the same time I haven't been further than quarters in Roland Garros."

Pepperstone ATP Live Rankings (after Rome Final)

Medvedev fell out of the Top 10 in January and was as low as World No. 12 in February. But the 27-year-old has surged since, winning titles in Rotterdam, Doha, Dubai, Miami and now Rome. The 20-time tour-level titlist will now set his sights on a return to World No. 1, a position he first reached last year and held for 16 weeks. 

Medvedev will enter Roland Garros 485 points behind Alcaraz. Since Alcaraz reached the quarter-finals last year and Medvedev advanced to the fourth round, Medvedev will gain another 180 points on the Spaniard in the Pepperstone ATP Live Rankings when the tournament begins.

Medvedev is also in good position in the battle for year-end ATP No. 1 presented by Pepperstone. The 27-year-old leads the Pepperstone ATP Live Race To Turin — a good indicator for that battle — by 845 points over second-placed Alcaraz and 1,555 points over third-placed Djokovic.

Rune also will make a move in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings on Monday when he climbs to a career-high World No. 6. One year ago, the Dane lost in the first round of qualifying in Rome. Now he is just 400 points from cracking the world's Top 5 for the first time.