Novak Djokovic handed a pre-Wimbledon rankings blow – and it might be about to get worse

Novak Djokovic rose up to No 4 in the live ATP Rankings after his impressive run to the French Open semi-finals, but he is already on a slide a week later.

The 24-time Grand Slam champion is eyeing up what he suggests is his best chance to win another title at Wimbledon, as he looks to move past Margaret Court in the all-time list of major title winners in tennis.

The 25th title he has been chasing since he won the 2023 US Open is proving to be elusive, with Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz sharing all the major titles since then.

Yet Djokovic will be a big contender when he gets to Wimbledon, where he is a seven-time champion, and getting into the top four seeded positions would help his cause.

The top four seeds in a Grand Slam get protection from playing against each other until at least the semi-finals, which would have helped Djokovic avoid an early meeting with Sinner or Alcaraz.

Yet the Serbian is not scheduled to play any Wimbledon warm-up tournaments and that will give his rivals in the rankings a chance to move past him ahead of the third Grand Slam of 2025.

Now he has been overtaken in the live rankings by America’s Taylor Fritz, who has confirmed he is ready to have a big grass court season by reaching the final of the ATP 250 tournament in Stuttgart.

He will play Alexander Zverev in the final, with the German moving further clear of Djokovic in the rankings as he has cemented his No 3 position ahead of Wimbledon.

Jack Draper is sitting at No 4 in the ATP Rankings this week, but he is due to drop down to No 6 on Monday and will then have a chance to move back up when he plays at the ATP 500 tournament at the Queen’s Club.

Draper is the No 2 seed for that event and could be on course for a meeting with Alcaraz in the final.

With less than 100 ranking points separating Fritz, Djokovic and Draper, there is a good chance the positions will change again ahead of Wimbledon, with Draper hoping to make a big run at the Queen’s Club in front of his British fans.

Djokovic looks set to head into Wimbledon as the No 6 seed and even though he could play world No 1 Sinner or defending champion Alcaraz in the quarter-finals, former British No 1 Tim Henman is convinced the Serbian has been best chance to win the extra major title he is chasing at the All England Club.

“I would never write Novak off,” Henman told Tennis365 in an exclusive interview conducted in the TNT Sports studio at Roland Garros.

“Sinner and Alcaraz have separated themselves from the rest at the moment, but Djokovic is in that next batch of half of dozen that could cause a surprise and win.

“Sinner and Alcaraz are strong favourites on this surface, but I look at Wimbledon and grass courts that should give Djokovic a little assistance and that’s where I see his best chance to win another Grand Slam.