Carlos Alcaraz’s leap up to No 2 in the ATP live rankings has been confirmed, but the Spaniard’s hopes of replacing Jannik Sinner as world No 1 look forlorn for the next few months.
Alcaraz failed to make the most of Sinner’s absence from the ATP Tour as the Italian served a three-month suspension for posting a positive doping test in March 2024.
He is returning to action at this week’s Italian Open and his lead at the top of the ATP Rankings is big enough to ensure he will not be threatened any time soon.
Alcaraz is the player most under threat in the rankings over the next couple of months, as he will have a massive 4,000 ranking points to defend from his wins at the French Open and Wimbledon last year.
Zverev is also defending plenty of points, with the 1,000 he won at the Italian Open last year backed up by another huge haul of points from his appearance in last year’s Frencg Open final.
Sinner will be the No 1 seed at the next two Grand Slam events at the French Open and Wimbledon and Alcaraz is on course to be No 2 seed for those events.
Alcaraz has jumped above Zverev in the live ATP Rankings, with the German dropping 1,000 on his ranking from last year’s Rome Masters event.
If he defends his title in the Italian capital, he could reclaim the No 2 seeding position for the French Open which would ensure the earliest he could face Sinner would be in the Roland Garros final.
Alcaraz will be keen to ensure he is the player who has that No 2 seeding berth, but he has admitted the pressure of chasing down Sinner during the Italian’s absence from the game has impacted his mindset.
“Since Jannik hasn’t been able to play tournaments, a lot of people have asked me about it and talked about it, about how important a time it is for me to reach No 1 again or to win tournaments,” said Alcaraz.
“Probably, in a way, I’ve been thinking about it too much instead of playing good tennis and enjoying myself on the court and in the matches. After Miami, I realised the path I have to follow and the things I have to do. I don’t have to think about the results or anything else, I just have to have fun.
“That’s the most important thing for me, and not paying attention to expectations or what people say about you. That’s what I’m trying to do, and I think it’s going well for me so far.
“I’m happy to have reached this level, but I think I can do better. At the beginning of the week, with the first clay-court tournament, you focus on adapting to the conditions. The ball comes to you differently, the game on clay is different. Once I’ve reached this level, I have to keep improving and, if possible, raise it.”
For his part, Zverev has admitted he is not in the form needed to challenge Sinner or Alcaraz in the battle for the No 1 ranking, even though he lifted an ATP 500 title in Munich last month.
“World No. 1? It would be nice. I don’t know. I have not been there. I believe I will. So we’ll see how it goes,” said Zverev as he spoke to the media in Rome.
“I do think the media also loves to put players down, right? I had a bad two months before Munich, right? I didn’t play great tennis before Munich. All of a sudden, I’m like the worst world No 2 in the world ever. I don’t deserve to be there. I’m there because I won tournaments. I’m there because I have results.
“The ranking system doesn’t lie. You get points for winning matches, you get points for winning titles. Yes, I know I didn’t play up to my standard. I know I didn’t play up to what I wanted to do. But neither did Carlos. Then he won Monte Carlo.
“There are periods in a player’s career… Do you think Novak is happy with his results? Do you think Carlos is happy with his results? I’m not happy with my results.”
Zverev and Alcaraz got their Italian Open campaigns off to a flying start with convincing wins in their opening matches, with the battle to be seeded No 2 at the French Open certain to be one of the big talking points over the next few days in Rome.
