Australian Open 2023: Scenarios for World No.1 after Casper Ruud's second round loss ft. Novak Djokovic, Stefanos Tsitsipas and Carlos Alcaraz

After Carlos Alcaraz announced his withdrawal from the 2023 Australian Open, Casper Ruud, Novak Djokovic and Stefanos Tsitsipas have a chance at becoming World No. 1.

Casper Ruud, seeded second at the Melbourne Major and third in the ATP rankings, fell to American Jenson Brooksby 6-3, 7-5, 6-7(4), 6-2 in the second round. Ruud, who is just 1100 points behind World No. 1 Alcaraz, is now out of contention for the top spot.

The upset caused by Brooksby leaves Novak Djokovic and Stefanos Tsitsipas with a chance to fight for the World No. 1 ranking. Alcaraz is at the top with 6840 points. With Nadal and Ruud not far behind at 5770 and 5720 respectively.

Considering that all the top 3 ATP players are out of this year's Australian Open, Djokovic and Tsitsipas are the only two players who can have a go at securing the No. 1 ranking.

World No. 6 Andrey Rublev, who is also in the running to lift the Norman Brookes Challenge Cup, will not rank as high as No. 1 even if he wins the tournament with almost 2000 points separating him and World No. 5 Djokovic.

Novak Djokovic, who has 5070 points, is en-route to becoming the Australian Open champion for the tenth time. If he manages to win the tournament, not only will he secure the World No. 1 ranking but will also win his 22nd Grand Slam title.

Tsitsipas, with 5715 points, is aiming to win his maiden Grand Slam singles title. His win will take him to a career-high ranking of No. 1.

The only way Alcaraz can continue to be World No. 1 is if neither Djokovic nor Tsitsipas win the Melbourne Major.

"Seriously thinking of maybe getting a home here (Melbourne)" - Stefanos Tsitsipas after his Australian Open 2R win

Stefanos Tsitsipas at the 2023 Australian Open

Greek star Stefanos Tsitsipas continues his bid to win his first Grand Slam title at the 2023 Australian Open. Tsitsipas cruised past Rinky Hijikata in the second round of the Melbourne Major with a comfortable victory of 6-3, 6-0, 6-2.

During his on-court interview following his second-round win, Tsitsipas revealed that Australia is a great place to host events like the United Cup. The United Cup is an international mixed-gender tournament. The first edition, which concluded on 8 January 2023, was played around various cities in Australia.

Speaking about his positive experience at the United Cup, Tsitsipas said that:

"...I got to see a lot of Australia in the last couple of weeks so starting from Perth going all the way to Sydney, I think Melbourne could be a candidate for the Finals."

Melbourne is also known for its Greek community, which is surely a huge factor for the Greek player who has felt a strong connection to the city and said it feels like home to him.

"...Maybe in the future, I am seriously thinking of maybe getting a home here one day."