How the race for World No. 1 looks like ahead of Carlos Alcaraz-Novak Djokovic French Open SF

Carlos Alcaraz and Novak Djokovic will take each other on in a blockbuster of a French Open semifinal on Friday, their first encounter of the year.

In addition to a 23rd Slam title for the Serb and a second Major trophy for the Spaniard, the World No. 1 spot is also on the line in Paris this week. Currently the top-ranked ATP player, Alcaraz has 7,175 ranking points to his name, thanks to his run in Roland Garros.

Djokovic, meanwhile, started the tournament as the World No. 3 but is guaranteed to finish the event as the World No. 2 at least. Now holding 6,315 ranking points, the 36-year-old is 215 points ahead of Daniil Medvedev, who suffered a shocking first-round exit.

A victory on Friday will mean 480 more points, meaning the 22-time Grand Slam champion can close his gap with Alcaraz down to 380 points (6,315+480 = 6,795) with a win. On the other hand, Alcaraz will increase his lead over Djokovic to 1,340 ranking points (7,175+480 = 7,655) if he beats the former World No. 1 in the semifinals of the 2023 French Open.

What this also means is that Novak Djokovic cannot become World No. 1 simply by beating Carlos Alcaraz in the semifinals; he has to go all the way and win the title in Roland Garros to do so. Winning the trophy will give another 800 points on top of the 480, taking him to 7,595 points -- 420 more than what the 20-year-old has at the moment.

If Alcaraz goes on to win the Paris title, however, he will hold 8,455 points -- 2,140 more than Djokovic's current tally.

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Who are the two men who could potentially thwart Novak Djokovic from becoming World No. 1 even if he beats Carlos Alcaraz in the semifinals of the French Open?

Mutua Madrid Open - Day Ten

While Carlos Alcaraz and Novak Djokovic will battle it out in the first semifinal at the 2023 French Open, Alexander Zverev and Casper Ruud will lock horns with each other in the other semifinal in Paris.

The duo both reached the stage at last year's edition as well, with Zverev falling to Rafael Nadal and Ruud downing Marin Cilic to reach the final, where he fell to Nadal to hand the Spaniard his 22nd Grand Slam title.

Djokovic has a winning head-to-head record against both -- 7-4 against the German and 4-0 against the Norwegian. Alcaraz, on the other hand, leads 3-0 in the head-to-head against Ruud but trails 2-3 against Zverev.