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Novak Djokovic's brutal Wimbledon fallout in Rafa Nadal triumph

Novak Djokovic (pictured left) after a point and (pictured right) Rafa Nadal thanking the French Open crowd after winning the title.
Novak Djokovic (pictured left) is set to lose his World No.1 ranking after losing to Rafa Nadal (pictured right) in the French Open, while the Spaniard will jump to No.4. (Getty Images)

Novak Djokovic is set to drop from World No.1 and Rafa Nadal will move to World No.3 to mark the first time since 2003 that none of the 'Big Four' have occupied the top two spots in the ATP rankings.

Nadal defeated Djokovic on his way to a record 14th French Open title, which also extended his grand slam lead (22) over both the Serb and Roger Federer (20).

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While the grand slam title race is of most significance for Djokovic, the current World No.1 is also set to lose his ranking when they are updated on 13 June.

Djokovic will drop down to World No.3 with Russian Daniil Medvedev taking the No.1 spot.

This is despite Medvedev being unable to play Wimbledon due to the All England Club's ban on Russian and Belarusian athletes.

German Alexander Zverev will move up to World No.2.

However, in another twist, Zverev is also likely to miss Wimbledon after suffering a horrific ankle injury in his semi-final retirement against Nadal at Roland Garros.

This means Djokovic could still be the No.1 seed for Wimbledon in a few weeks.

Remarkably, not since 2003 has one of Federer, Nadal, Djokovic or Andy Murray not occupied either the World No.1 or 2 ranking.

Novak Djokovic to face further ranking fallout

The Russian spent three weeks at World No.1 earlier this year, which marked the third shortest stint in ATP history.

Medvedev earlier claimed he was determined to make sure his next stint would be longer.

Djokovic will extend his time as World No.1 to a record 373rd week before losing the ranking.

The Serb dropped points at the Australian Open and Roland Garros, which he was the reigning champions after a remarkable 2021.

However, Djokovic could see his ranking fall further after Wimbledon.

Wimbledon unilaterally banned players from Russia and Belarus from competing at this year's tournament, in response to the Vladimir Putin led Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Novak Djokovic (pictured right) and Daniil Medvedev (pictured) pose with their trophies.
Novak Djokovic (pictured right) and Daniil Medvedev (pictured) are both set to move around the ATP rankings after Roland Garros. (Photo by Tnani Badreddine/DeFodi Images via Getty Images) (DeFodi Images via Getty Images)

In response, the ATP Tour stripped Wimbledon of handing out ranking points to players.

This means Djokovic, who won the tournament last year, will drop 2,000 points.

To add further confusion, Djokovic may not be able to play the US Open.

As it stands, travellers visiting the US still need to be vaccinated.

Djokovic said after the Australian Open that he would rather miss grand slams than get vaccinated.

And considering Djokovic made the final of last year's event, losing to Medvedev, he could be set for another big rankings hit later this year.

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