Carlos Alcaraz vs Novak Djokovic: World No. 1 scenario amid Spaniard's injury crisis

Novak Djokovic capped off the North American hardcourt swing by not only winning the US Open, but also dislodging Carlos Alcaraz to reclaim the World No. 1 ranking.

With Alcaraz failing to defend the 2,000 ranking points that he had secured enroute to the trophy in New York last year, he found himself dropping back down to four digits in terms of his overall ranking points. But while Djokovic surged to a mammoth-looking 11,045, the young Spaniard remained hopeful of catching up.

Alcaraz has expressed his desire to reclaim the top spot in numerous interviews since the US Open, saying that he was enjoying the battle for it.

“As I said a few times, we have a really beautiful battle for the No. 1 spot after the great performance Novak Djokovic had in the American season,” Carlos Alcaraz said in one of his recent interviews. “He's the World No. 1 right now. I'm coming here with extra motivation to try to recover it in the Race, of course, in the ranking."

With that motivation in mind, Alcaraz had entered two tournaments in China — the China Open and Shanghai Masters. With Djokovic absent from both, the Spaniard was hoping to close the gap on the World No. 1.

Back-to-back underwhelming showings, however, foiled Alcaraz's plans. The 20-year-old lost in the semifinals of China Open, an ATP 500 event, losing out to eventual champion Jannik Sinner. He then came up short against an inspired Grigor Dimitrov in the Shanghai Masters fourth round.

Alcaraz, who is now sitting at No. 2 with 8,805 points, was slated to participate in the Swiss Indoors ATP 500 event. However, a foot injury has forced him to pull out.

"Unfortunately I will not be able to play in Basel this year! I have a problem with the plantar fascia in my left foot and muscle fatigue in my lower back which need treatment so I can play the rest of the season. I hope to see you all soon!" Carlos Alcaraz wrote on social media.

The injury has also a put the youngster's participation in Paris — the final ATP 1000 Masters event of the season — in doubt, further complicating his pursuit for the World No. 1 ranking.

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What Carlos Alcaraz & Novak Djokovic are defending next in pursuit of World No. 1 ranking

Novak Djokovic will be defending his finals showing at the 2022 Rolex Paris Masters.

Next up for both Novak Djokovic and Carlos Alcaraz is the Paris Masters. While the Serb will be defending a hefty 600 points that he earned en-route to the final last year, the Spaniard stands to lose just 180, earned courtesy of a quarterfinal showing.

Both players currently feature on the entry list, but the Spaniard's participation hangs in the balance given the latest injury concerns. In better news for Alcaraz, Djokovic will also soon be dropping the 1,500 ranking points that he added to his tally by lifting the ATP Finals trophy last year.

In simple words, if neither player is able to defend any more points for the rest of the season, the gap between the two would come down to 500 points — as Novak Djokovic drops 600 (Paris Masters) + 1,500 (ATP Finals) and Carlos Alcaraz only loses 180 (Paris Masters).

Since Alcaraz did not participate in the ATP Finals last year, he has a huge opporutnity to earn up to 1,500 points at the year-end championships — which, if he manages to do, can help him reclaim the World No. 1 ranking.

That said, with Novak Djokovic making a return to competition in Paris, things can get complicated. Barring the Davis Cup cameo, the Serb has not played in weeks, but will still take some stopping given his caliber.