Wimbledon 2012: No. 1 Ranking on Line in Djokovic vs. Federer Semifinal

In case you missed today's gentlemen's quarterfinals at Wimbledon, both first seed Novak Djokovic and third seed Roger Federer cruised into the semifinals.

Their wins set up a semifinal battle between the two to take place on Friday, their sixth meeting in a Grand Slam semifinal in the past eight tournaments.

Of course, any Grand Slam semi has plenty at stake. Mainly, they hold the key to a final appearance, meaning the winner is just a step away from a Grand Slam title.

However, this one has a bit more at stake.

For Djokovic, it would reaffirm his status as the best player in the world and give him a chance for his sixth Grand Slam title.

For Federer, a victory would put him one step away from his seventh Wimbledon title, a feat only accomplished by Pete Sampras.

And yet there is even one more thing at stake in the match: the No.1 ranking.

Currently, Federer is ranked third and Djokovic first in the world.

With Rafael Nadal's shocking second-round loss to Lukas Rosol, he will now surely drop to third below Federer and Djokovic.

Now, last year, Djokovic won the tournament while Federer fell in the quarterfinals to Jo-Wilfried Tsonga.  Because of this, Federer has 360 ranking points while Djokovic has all 2,000 to defend.

If Djokovic were to fall to Federer, he would only get 720 points from this tournament and have his overall points fall to 11,000. Meanwhile, if Federer wins the title, his points for the tournament would go up to 2,000, moving his overall ranking points to 11,075. Therefore, Federer would actually be the world's No. 1 player for the first time in over two years while Djokovic would lose the ranking for the first time in a year.

With Nadal out of the tournament, the winner of this semi will certainly be the favorite heading into the final.

Thus, Djokovic must defend two things in this semifinal: his Wimbledon title and his No. 1 ranking.

For the latest news on 2012 Wimbledon and more, follow me on Twitter