ATP Rankings: Djokovic closes in on World No. 1 Alcaraz after epic Cincinnati Open title

Here is all you need to know about the latest ATP Rankings released on August 21, 2023.

Novak Djokovic closed in on World No. 1 Carlos Alcaraz in the latest ATP Rankings released on Monday.

World No. 2 Djokovic saved a match point before beating Alcaraz 5-7, 7-6(7), 7-6(4) to win his third Cincinnati Open and overall 39th Masters 1000 title, which reduced the gap between the two players to just 20 points. Since the 20-year-old Spaniard will be the defending champion at the US Open beginning from August 28, he won’t be able to gain any points.

On the other hand. Djokovic, who missed last year’s Major in New York due to USA’s ban on international travellers who had not taken the vaccine against COVID-19, just needs to win his first-round match to reclaim the number one spot.

Elsewhere in the top 10, Denmark’s Holger Rune moved up a spot to a new career-high of four despite his second-round retirement in Cincinnati since last year’s runner-up Stefanos Tsitsipas lost in the round of 16. The Greek player slipped three spots to seventh.

Tsitsipas’ slip along with Italy’s Jannik Sinner’s second-round loss helped Norway’s Casper Ruud move up in the rankings. Like Sinner, Ruud to lost in the second round in Cincinnati but since he was not defending any points, he gained two spots to become World No. 5.

Germany’s Alexander Zverev, who won the title in 2021, lost to Djokovic in the semifinals this year. Nevertheless, he moved up five spots to 12th. Other losing semifinalist – Hubert Hurkacz of Poland – also moved up three places to 17th.

Croatia’s Borna Coric, the defending champion, went down to Hurkacz in the second round and as a result, slipped 13 spots to 29th.

Alejandro Davidovich Fokina (21st), Nicolas Jarry (24th), Mackenzie McDonald (39th), Alexei Popyrin (40th), Max Purcell (47th), Luca Van Assche (65th), Alexander Shevchenko (84th), Yosuke Watanuki (88th) and Facundo Diaz Acosta (93rd) are the other Top 100 players who achieved new career-highs this week.

USA’s Tommy Paul beat World No. 1 Carlos Alcaraz on his way to the semifinals in Toronto and consequently, gained one spot to move up to 13th, a new career-high. Alejandro Davidovich Fokina, the other losing semifinalist at the Canadian Open, also gained 14 spots to become World No. 23, his career-best ranking.

Elsewhere in the Top 100, Tallon Griekspoor (25th), McDonald (43rd), Aleksandar Vukic (48th), Matteo Arnaldi (61st), Fabian Marozsan (82nd) and Yosuke Watanuki (90th) also achieved new career-high rankings.