Will Novak Djokovic Climb Back to World Number One in 2023?

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Former world number one Novak Djokovic will be hoping he can jump back to the world of the ATP rankings in 2023. The Serbian showed at the end of 2022 that he remains the man to beat when at the top of his game.


At the 2022 ATP Finals in Turin, Djokovic became the oldest champion in the history of the tournament. He defeated Taylor Fritz and Casper Ruud in the semi-final and final respectively, to lift the trophy for the fifth time in his career.

That success at end of 2022 will give Djokovic a lot of confidence going into the new campaign. His season has begun in the Adelaide International, just one of the events he will play as he warms up for the Australia Open in Melbourne, the opening Grand Slam event of the year.

Despite missing the Australian Open and US Open last season, Djokovic was able to avoid falling out of the top five in the ATP rankings. His success at Wimbledon did not earn him any rankings points, but it was still an important victory for the man from Serbia.

There were also wins last season for Djokovic in the Italian Open (ATP 1000), Astana Open (ATP 500), and Tel Aviv Open (ATP 250), while he finished runner-up in the Paris Masters (ATP 1000) and Serbia Open (ATP 250).

Nadal’s Grand Slam Tally in Sight

With wins in the Australian Open and French Open in 2022, Rafael Nadal was able to take his ATP Grand Slam tally to 22. Djokovic heads into the new season one behind the Spaniard in the all-time list.

Djokovic will begin the 2023 Australian Open as the +210 favorite with Betway, one of the leading bookmakers listed at Arabian Betting. If you are looking to back the nine-time winner, you may be able to pick up a $2000 bonus for signing up for a new account. Tennis is one of the most popular sports in the Arab world, so there is likely to be a lot of interest in the event taking place in Melbourne.

The 35-year-old has not lost a game at the Australian Open since he was defeated by Chung Hyeon in the fourth round of the tournament in 2018. His strong record on the hard courts in Melbourne is why all the gambling sites in the Arab countries make him the favorite to add to his Grand Slam tally, a win that would see him draw level with Nadal.

Djokovic’s toughest challenge this year could come at the French Open in Paris. He won the title there in 2016 and 2021, but it is a tournament that Nadal has dominated. If he can produce his best game on clay again and lift the title at Roland-Garros, it would go a long way towards securing the Grand Slam titles record outright from his rival.

Carlos Alcaraz Tops the ATP Rankings at Start of 2023

The top spot in the ATP rankings is currently held by Carlos Alcaraz. The Spaniard had a breakthrough year in 2022, with wins coming in the Rio Open (ATP 500), Miami Open (ATP 1000), Barcelona Open (ATP 500), Madrid Open (ATP 1000), and the US Open (Grand Slam).

In the US Open final in New York, Alcaraz showed his class in one of the biggest tournaments of the year, beating Ruud in four sets. Many tennis pundits believe it will be the first of many Grand Slam titles for the Spanish player.

This will be the first season in his career that Alcaraz will defend the number one position in the tennis rankings. He will be hoping to improve on his two appearances at the Australian Open, as he has yet to go beyond the third round in Melbourne.

Alcaraz and Djokovic have met just once so far in their careers. It was the Spaniard who prevailed in a close three-set encounter in the semi-final of the 2022 Madrid Open. The world number one came from a set down to win that contest before winning the title in the clay court event.

With Casper Ruud, Stefanos Tsitsipas, and Daniil Medvedev also likely to be challenging for the big tournaments in 2023, this year could be the biggest challenge in Djokovic’s career, but one he will surely relish.