A recent development ahead of the ATP Finals may have given Carlos Alcaraz a potential advantage over rival Jannik Sinner.
This year's ATP Finals begins today in the Italian city of Turin and will run for the rest of the week as the top eight men's tennis players in the world take on each other.
Current world top two Sinner and Alcaraz have qualified for the tournament and are the star names taking part.
The other six men who have qualified include American duo Ben Shelton and Taylor Fritz, Canadian Felix Auger-Aliassime, Alex de Minaur of Australia, Italian Lorenzo Musetti and Germany's Alexander Zverev.
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But one big name is missing thanks a late withdrawal from the competition.
Legendary figure Novak Djokovic had qualified for the tournament, but has been forced to withdraw from taking part due to picking up a shoulder injury.
Djokovic has 24 Grand Slam crowns to his name including 10 Australian Open titles, seven Wimbledon crowns, four US Open triumphs and three wins at the French Open.
The Serbian has also claimed seven ATP Finals wins and had equalled Roger Federer's record of reaching the tournament a total of 18 times when he made the competition in Turin.
But Djokovic has now been replaced by Musetti after he was forced to withdraw and the Serbian announced his move by a post on Instagram after picking up the injury in his win at the Athens Open.
Djokovic wrote: "I was really looking forward to competing in Turin and giving my best, but after today's final in Athens, I’m sad to share that I need to withdraw due to an ongoing injury.
"I’m truly sorry to the fans who were hoping to see me play. I wish all the players an amazing tournament, and I can’t wait to be back on the court with you all soon."
It has meant the two groups of four players each has now been revised, with Musetti taking Djokovic's place in the Jimmy Connors group alongside Alcaraz, Fritz and de Minaur.
The Bjorn Borg group comprises Sinner, Zverev, Shelton and Auger-Aliassime.
Sinner and Alcaraz have become the two biggest names in men's tennis alongside Djokovic thanks to their Grand Slam successes in recent years.
Sinner has claimed two Australian Open titles, the US Open and Wimbledon so far, while he has also reached the final of the French Open.
Alcaraz meanwhile has won six Grand Slam crowns so far in his tennis career having won the French Open, Wimbledon and the US Open twice each.
This tournament in Italy will see the winner of each group take on the respective runner-up of the other one in the semi-finals, with the victors meeting in the final.
And with Djokovic's withdrawal, it could be argued that Alcaraz has been handed an advantage over Sinner in his route to the final, due to Musetti being a lower rank than the Serbian.
Topics: Jannik Sinner, Carlos Alcaraz, Tennis, Novak Djokovic
John McDougall