Alexander Zverev projected to be No. 2 seed at Roland Garros after Djokovic falls in Rome

With world No. 2 Carlos Alcaraz out of Roland Garros due to a right wrist injury, there was a battle brewing in Rome for who would be the No. 2 seed in Paris behind the world No. 1, Jannik Sinner.

Well, that battle is already over.

Alexander Zverev is now guaranteed to remain world No. 3 according to the ATP’s official live rankings, no matter what happens the rest of the way in Rome, and with the Roland Garros seedings being made from the post-Rome rankings, that means Zverev is projected to be the No. 2 seed in Paris this year.

Going into Rome, current world No. 4 Novak Djokovic was the only player who could pass Zverev on the ATP rankings, but he needed to win the title to have a chance—and on Friday he lost his opening match at the Masters 1000 event to Dino Prizmic.

Being the No. 2 seed at Roland Garros this year holds major implications, literally—it means that player can avoid No. 1 seed Jannik Sinner until the final. Given the Italian’s recent run of form—he’s won the last five Masters 1000 events in a row, including two on clay in Monte Carlo and Madrid—it’s an ideal spot to be in.

But there’s some good news for Djokovic, as he’s still projected to be the No. 3 or No. 4 seed in Paris, whatever happens in Rome.

Ben Shelton and Felix Auger-Aliassime, currently ranked No. 5 and No. 6, respectively, both have a chance to pass Djokovic for the No. 4 ranking in Rome, but they can’t both do it, as they both not only need the title to achieve the feat, but they’re on the same half of the draw, too, so only one of them can even reach the final.

That means Djokovic will be among the Top 4 seeds in Paris and avoid Sinner (and Zverev) until at least the semifinals.

The No. 3 and No. 4 seeds are placed at random in either the No. 1 or No. 2 seed’s half of the draw at all tour-level events.

As for Zverev, he’ll now be the No. 2 seed at a Grand Slam for the third time in his career, having previously been seeded second at Roland Garros in 2018 and the Australian Open in 2025.

In Paris eight years ago, he ended up reaching the quarterfinals before falling to No. 7 seed and eventual runner-up Dominic Thiem, 6-4, 6-2, 6-1. Thiem fell to Rafael Nadal in the final.

In Melbourne last year, he ended up going all the way to the final before falling to No. 1 seed Sinner, 6-3, 7-6 (4), 6-3.

The German is into the third round in Rome this week and will next play Alexander Blockx on Sunday, in a rematch of last week’s Madrid semifinal, where the world No. 3 prevailed, 6-2, 7-5.