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Inside The Four-Way Battle For World No. 1 At Roland Garros
Carlos Alcaraz, Daniil Medvedev, Novak Djokovic and Stefanos Tsitsipas enter Roland Garros with a chance to leave the clay-court major as the No. 1 player in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings. The battle for World No. 1 has been raging all season, and it does not appear that will change in Paris.
No. 1 Alcaraz, No. 2 Medvedev and No. 3 Djokovic control their own destiny on the French clay. If any of them lift the Coupe des Mousquetaires, the top spot will come with it on 12 June. But a bad day could see those dreams quickly go up in flames.
Round-By-Round Pepperstone ATP Rankings Points
| Player | R1 | R2 | R3 | R4 | QF | SF | F | W |
| No. 1 Carlos Alcaraz | 6,465 | 6,500 | 6,545 | 6,635 | 6,815 | 7,175 | 7,655 | 8,455 |
| No. 2 Daniil Medvedev | 6,010 | 6,045 | 6,090 | 6,180 | 6,360 | 6,720 | 7,200 | 8,000 |
| No. 3 Novak Djokovic | 5,605 | 5,640 | 5,685 | 5,775 | 5,955 | 6,315 | 6,795 | 7,595 |
| No. 5 Stefanos Tsitsipas | 4,560 | 4,595 | 4,640 | 4,730 | 4,910 | 5,270 | 5,750 | 6,550 |
Alcaraz, Djokovic and Tsitsipas are all in the same half of the draw, which could add even more pressure to blockbuster showdowns. Alcaraz could meet Tsitsipas in the quarter-finals and Djokovic in the semi-finals.
If Alcaraz claws through his half to reach the final, Medvedev must beat him with the trophy on the line to return to World No. 1 for the first time since September of last year. If the 20-year-old Spaniard reaches the final and faces anyone but Medvedev, he will remain No. 1.
If Alcaraz, Djokovic and Tsitsipas all fail to make the final, Medvedev just needs to advance to the championship match to return to top spot.
Since Djokovic is in the same half of Alcaraz, the No. 1 battle could come down to an epic clash between the two in the semi-finals. If Djokovic beats Alcaraz in the last four and Medvedev does not reach the final, the Serbian would not need to win the title to return to No. 1.
Of the quartet competing for top spot, Tsitsipas is the one who does not control his own destiny. The Greek must claim his first Grand Slam crown to have a chance of climbing to No. 1 for the first time. Tsitsipas would need to win the title, with Alcaraz falling by the third round and Medvedev losing in the quarter-finals or earlier.
World No. 4 Casper Ruud cannot climb higher than World No. 3 after Roland Garros. The Norwegian will enter the tournament with 4,960 points and drop 1,200 after reaching the final last year. Therefore, his maximum points total is 5,760 by lifting the trophy.
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