Novak Djokovic (Photo : Getty Images)
Novak Djokovic will have a chance to immediately retain his spot atop the world rankings when the Serb competes at the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals in London next week.
Djokovic's reign as the ATP's world No. 1 has ended after Andy Murray took over as the new top player in the men's competition. Murray's latest success halted Djokovic's 122 straight weeks of dominance at the summit, forcing the Serb in a must-win situation at the O2 Arena in London to end the year on a winning note. But Djokovic can also immediately redeem himself at the Tour finale, where he bids for an unprecedented fifth successive title at the event and a record-equaling sixth crown overall.
Just a week after losing the No. 1 spot to Murray at the ATP world rankings, Djokovic gets a chance to snatch it back from the Scot by winning all his matches at the season finale tournament. And while it is a task easier said than done, considering Djokovic's losing slump, the Belgrade native may have been given a boost by a significantly easier draw.
Compared to Group John McEnroe, where Murray competes against the likes of Swiss Stan Wawrinka, Croatian Marin Cilic and Japanese Kei Nishikori, Djokovic will play Austrian Dominic Thiem, France's Gael Monfils and Canada's Milos Raonic in the round robin stage, all of which have never won a match against the 12-time Grand Slam winner.
Djokovic has won all of his three matches against Thiem, most recently in the semifinal round of the 2016 French Open. The 29-year-old also leads Raonic by 7-0 in their FedEx ATP Head2Head matchup, defeating the Canadian twice this year, while the Serb is up by a staggering 13-0 against Monfils, who also lost to Djokovic twice this season.
Djokovic has struggled to find his winning ways since earning his first ever French Open title earlier this year. He admitted personal issues contributed to his disappointing losses at the Tour, including early round exits at the big stages. But if Djokovic could regain some of the fire he displayed earlier this season, Murray's trip atop the world rankings could be short-lived.
