The battle for No. 1 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings is heating up ahead of the Wimbledon semi-finals. Both Carlos Alcaraz and Novak Djokovic have a chance to leave London in top spot.

Alcaraz currently leads Djokovic by 80 points in the Pepperstone ATP Live Rankings. If both players lose in the last four of The Championships, the 20-year-old will remain No. 1.

Otherwise, whoever earns the better result at the grass-court major will earn World No. 1. Alcaraz and Djokovic could play a winner-takes-all championship blockbuster for the trophy and World No. 1.

Pepperstone ATP Live Rankings (as of 12 July)

Daniil Medvedev began the week with a chance to return to World No. 1 by the end of the fortnight, but needed early losses from Alcaraz and Djokovic. Since that did not happen, the 27-year-old is guaranteed to leave SW19 as World No. 3.

However, Medvedev can insert himself in the battle for ATP Year-End No. 1 presented by Pepperstone by lifting the trophy. Medvedev is trying to earn that accolade for the first time.

Medvedev can immediately claim the lead in the Pepperstone ATP Live Race To Turin. If Medvedev, Alcaraz or Djokovic triumph at The All England Club, the champion will depart in first place in the Live Race.

The fourth semi-finalist, Jannik Sinner, has the chance to make the biggest move in the Pepperstone ATP Live Rankings. Currently No. 8, the Italian will ascend to a career-high World No. 4 if he wins the title.

If Sinner claims his maiden major trophy to make that surge, he would become the joint-highest-ranked Italian in Pepperstone ATP Rankings history. Adriana Panatta reached World No. 4 in 1976.

Sinner also can put himself in prime position in the Live Race. Currently fifth, he can ascend to fourth by making his first major final. Sinner is trying to qualify for the Nitto ATP Finals for the first time after competing in the season finale as an alternate following Matteo Berrettini’s mid-tournament withdrawal in 2021.

“Because of Tomas, I started to play tennis.”

Jakub Mensik grew up watching Tomas Berdych light up the ATP Tour. The former World No. 4 would often practise in Mensik’s hometown, Prostejov, Czech Republic, where the 17-year-old had the chance to first meet Berdych in 2011.

“I was five and I was one of the hundreds of kids who played with him, one point in Prostejov,” Mensik told ATPTour.com. “It was kids day [at a Challenger event], and Tomas Berdych and Ivan Lendl came to be there with the kids and enjoy the time. 12 years ago, I was just a little kid watching him and watching his matches. I met him and took a photo with him. At that time, he didn’t know who I was, but now it’s a completely different situation.”

It is a ‘different situation’ now because Mensik is a fast-rising star on the ATP Challenger Tour, trying to follow in the footsteps of Berdych. In May, the teen won his first Challenger title on the clay courts of Prague. A month later, while competing at his home tournament in Prostejov, Mensik and Berdych played an exhibition match on kids day at the UniCredit Czech Open, the same event where they posed for a picture in 2011. 

“[Tomas] has not played for four years but in Prostejov, he’s the player of the club. He would practise there and played Challengers there, like the Czech Open,” Mensik said. “It was really fun, I really enjoyed it. Because of Tomas, I started to play tennis. Now I had the opportunity to play with him.”

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In just his sixth Challenger outing, Mensik edged Berdych by two months to become the youngest Czech Challenger champion in history (since 1978). Mensik joined elite company in Prague, becoming one of four 17-year-old Challenger titlists in the past five years: Jannik Sinner (2019), Carlos Alcaraz (2020), Shang Juncheng (2022).

Despite being able to count how many Challengers he has played on two hands, the World No. 217 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings stated that he is learning quickly.

“When I started this year playing a couple Challengers, it’s a completely different level than playing Futures,” Mensik said. “I played a few Challengers in Thailand and then a few in Europe, I was like a new guy there. I knew I could play with those guys, but I didn’t have the experience. After a few tournaments, I really started to trust myself and play my best game.

“In Prague, that tournament I felt very special on court. From the start, I beat the top seed [Radu Albot] and after that match, I was like, ‘Let’s continue’. Match by match, I felt more comfortable on the court. Then in a few days I became a champion. I felt very special and it was a very good experience for me. After losing in first rounds and qualifying rounds, I think it was faster than I expected.”

The 2022 Australian Open boys’ singles finalist is aiming to continue his rapid rise with a goal of being at the Next Gen ATP Finals, an eight-player field that features the season’s best 21-and-under players. Mensik is currently 20th in the Pepperstone ATP Live Next Gen Race.

“Of course to be part of the Next Gen Finals would be really good. At the start of the season, I was losing matches and now the last few months, I’ve played well so I can see the ranking is moving,” Mensik said. “Let’s see what the next tournaments will bring but it will be very nice. It’s of course one of my goals. But the big goal is to be a part of the US Open. It would be my first Grand Slam. US Open would be really good and moving to the Top 200 would also be very good.”

In order to achieve those goals, Mensik is working hard on the ATP Challenger Tour. The teenager is in action at this week’s Concord Iasi Open, where he will aim for the highest-ranked win of his career when he meets top seed Bernabe Zapata Miralles in Friday’s quarter-final.

Sixth seeds Rohan Bopanna and Matthew Ebden rallied from a set down Wednesday to book their ticket to the Wimbledon semi-finals.

The Indian-Australian duo survived Dutchmen Tallon Griekspoor and Bart Stevens 6-7(3), 7-5, 6-2 in the quarter-finals after one hour, 54 minutes. Bopanna and Ebden won 63 per cent of points behind their second serve, compared to their opponents’ 39 per cent.

Bopanna and Ebden, who have claimed titles in Doha and Indian Wells this year, will next clash against top seeds Wesley Koolhof and Neal Skupski after the Dutch-British duo defeated Ariel Behar and Adam Pavlasek 4-6, 6-2, 6-3 in the last eight. Koolhof and Skupski won 82 per cent of their first-serve points to advance.

The 10th seeds Kevin Krawietz and Tim Puetz downed 13th seeds Jamie Murray and Michael Venus 6-4, 6-3. The German pair will face 15th seeds Marcel Granollers and Horacio Zeballos in the semi-finals after the Spanish-Argentine team ousted Americans Nathaniel Lammons and Jackson Withrow 6-4, 7-5.

The men’s doubles semi-finals will take place Thursday on No. 1 Court, starting at 1 p.m. local time.

Novak Djokovic is a force to be reckoned with at Wimbledon, a point multiple stars of Netflix’s Break Point made in the hit tennis documentary series.

“He’s played in I have no idea how many Slam finals, probably like 30, 40,” Nick Kyrgios said. “I’m a kid from Canberra. I’m not supposed to be here. But I’m here.”

Today, Djokovic is a 23-time major winner who has reached 34 finals at Grand Slam tournaments. In last year’s Wimbledon final, the Serbian defeated Kyrgios in four sets.

“He’s so mentally in tune with everything,” Kyrgios said.

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In the final, Kyrgios made a quick start and won the opening set. From there, Djokovic took over to claim his seventh trophy at The Championships in four sets.

“His composure in certain moments where another player would have started to panic, he didn’t show me,” the Australian explained.

“He’s calmer. You can’t rush him. He’s more patient. You can’t teach that. It comes from experience.”

Two of the show’s experts, Andy Roddick and Patrick Mouratoglou, also praised Djokovic in Break Point.

“Physically dominant. Mentally tougher than everyone else,” Roddick said. “Novak, he’s the master of the game.”

Mouratoglou said of the Serbian: “Beating Novak at Wimbledon is probably the highest mountain to climb for any tennis player.”

Persistent rain was not enough to stop Kei Nishikori Wednesday on the ATP Challenger Tour.

The former World No.4 ousted sixth seed Alexis Galarneau 7-6(3), 6-1 in the first round of the Chicago Men’s Challenger, where rain forced the event to move indoors on Wednesday. Nishikori won 47 per cent of his return points and raced to a 5-0 lead in the second set, eventually converting his third match point to advance after one hour, 24 minutes.

World No. 215 Galarneau is the highest-ranked player Nishikori has beat during his 2023 comeback. The Japanese star will next face Skander Mansouri or James McCabe in the second round.

Back to work 💪@keinishikori gearing up for this week’s event in Chicago!#ATPChallenger pic.twitter.com/ueBWJG4SYP

— ATP Challenger Tour (@ATPChallenger) July 10, 2023

The 33-year-old Nishikori, who underwent arthroscopic left hip surgery last year, returned to action last month at the ATP Challenger event in Palmas del Mar, Puerto Rico. Despite playing his first tournament since the BNP Paribas Open in October 2021, the 12-time tour-level titlist dropped just one set all week en route to the title. Nishikori also played last week’s Cranbrook Tennis Classic in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, where he fell to American Denis Kudla in the second round.

Nishikori, who is World No. 501 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings, will return to ATP Tour action later this month in Atlanta and Washington, D.C.

Fans can watch all ATP Challenger Tour matches live and on demand for free at Challenger TV.