French Open 2012: Ranking Implications for Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal

The 2012 French Open is scheduled to start on Sunday, May 27th, with the men’s singles draw scheduled for release on Friday, May 25th.

Rafael Nadal is the favorite to win the event, while most consider Novak Djokovic to be the second favorite. The coveted French Open title is at stake, however, the World No. 1 is not directly at stake at Roland Garros this year.

Djokovic will remain No. 1.

Entering the 2012 French Open, Djokovic currently has 11,800 ranking points. Last season at the clay-court slam, the Serbinator made the semifinals and he picked up 720 ranking points for those efforts.

Even if Djokovic unexpectedly withdrew from the 2012 French Open and failed to defend any portion of those 720 ranking points, there would be no way Nadal could catch him for the top spot at Roland Garros.

Nadal won the French Open last season and he picked up 2,000 ranking points for that. This season he has all of those ranking points to defend. Even with a repeat title, he would turn a net gain of zero points at Roland Garros 2012.

That circumstance makes it impossible for Nadal to catch Djokovic in the race for top spot on tour immediately following the conclusion of this year’s Paris Grand Slam.

There is no way Roger Federer could catch Djokovic either, even if the Swiss Maestro wins his second title at Roland Garros.

He’s too far behind the World No. 1 for that to happen, although there are plenty of scenarios where either Federer or Nadal could catch Djokovic at Wimbledon later this summer.

Djokovic will be the defending champion at the All England Club. If he fails to defend his title, the door could be wide open for a new No. 1 player.

If either Federer or Nadal want to catch Djokovic over the summer, then winning the French Open has to be their top priority. The current World No. 1 needs the title to give himself more of a buffer.