As expected, Carlos Alcaraz returned to the top of the ATP Rankings on the back of the Italian Open, but Novak Djokovic was dealt a couple of blows in Rome.

Both Alcaraz and Djokovic didn’t have the greatest of fortnight in Italy, but the latter was the bigger loser as he not only failed to defend his title, but he also dropped to No 3 in the ranking and, as a result, will only be seeded third at Roland Garros.

Although Alcaraz suffered a shock loss in the third round at Foro Italico, he was assured of reclaiming the world No 1 ranking as he only needed to make an appearance at the ATP Masters 1000 event to move from second to top spot.

The Spaniard picked up 45 points to move to 6,815 points to start week No 23 at No 1, ending Djokovic’s latest stint with the Serbian’s overall tally on 387 weeks.

But while Alcaraz’s position was a foregone conclusion since the second round, nobody quite expected Daniil Medvedev to also usurp Djokovic.And it was a case of six of one and half a dozen of the other as Medvedev did his part by winning the Italian Open – defeating Holger Rune in the final – and picking up 1,000 points to grow his points tally to 6,330.

Medvedev’s cause, of course, was helped by the fact that defending champion Djokovic lost in quarter-final against Rune, resulting in him dropping 820 points and he is now 5,995 points heading into the French Open.

And while slipping to No 3 in the ATP Rankings is not the biggest setback for Djokovic, it did have an impact on his seed for Roland Garros as he will be seeded behind Alcaraz and Medvedev.

Again, it is not the biggest disaster in the world for someone of Djokovic’s class, but he could end up in the same half of the draw as Alcaraz, meaning they could meet in the semi-final instead of the final. But the 22-time Grand Slam has of course beaten the best in the business before.As for the rest of the top five in the ATP Rankings, Casper Ruud and Stefanos Tsitsipas complete the top five on the back of their runs to the semi-final in Rome

Rune is up to a career-high No 6 following his runners-up finish while Andrey Rublev, Jannik Sinner, Taylor Fritz and Felix Auger-Aliassime make up the rest of the top 10.Great Britain’s Cameron Norrie dropped to No 14 while Rafael Nadal – who will miss the French Open due to a hip injury – is now at No 15.

Further down the list, Alexander Zverev dropped five places to No 27 – his lowest position since September 2016 – following his loss in the fourth round in Rome.

ATP Rankings Top 201. Carlos Alcaraz Spain – 6,815 points2. Daniil Medvedev – 6,330 points3. Novak Djokovic Serbia – 5,955 points4. Casper Ruud Norway – 4,915 points5. Stefanos Tsitsipas Greece – 4,775 points6. Holger Rune Denmark – 4,3757. Andrey Rublev – 4,2708. Jannik Sinner Italy – 3,4359. Taylor Fritz United States – 3,39010. Felix Auger-Aliassime Canada – 3,06511. Karen Khachanov – 2,94512. Frances Tiafoe United States – 2,79013. Hubert Hurkacz Poland – 2,52514. Cameron Norrie Great Britain – 2,52015. Rafael Nadal Spain – 2,44516. Borna Coric Croatia – 2,41017. Tommy Paul United States – 2,13518. Lorenzo Musetti Italy – 2,04019. Alex De Minaur Australia – 1,87020. Matteo Berrettini Italy – 1,832