Novak Djokovic has a route in his attempt to retain No. 1

Next week Novak Djokovic return to the fields. The Serbian returns to the circuit after his victory at the Australian Open, the same one that allowed him to regain number one in the ATP ranking.

Staying will be his great objective in the ATP 500 in Dubai that starts next Monday and for which he already knows his roadmap.

The Serbian will make his debut against his player from the previous phase and in the second round they will face him Dutch Tallon Griekspoor or French Constant Lestienne. The bar would rise in the quarterfinals, against Andy Murray or Hubert Hurkacz, while Daniil Medvedev would meet in the semifinals.

On the other side of the field, Felix Auger Aliassime, Andrey Rublev and Alexander Zverev start as favorites for the final.

Dubai shares a week on the calendar with Santiago de Chile and Acapulco, where Carlos Alcaraz plans to compete, precisely. The Murcian could face the tournament with the same points as the Serbian if he were champion in Rio. So, whoever goes the furthest the following week will manage to stay at the top of the leaderboard.