Since Carlos Alcaraz unexpectedly withdrew from the Argentina Open, it looks like he won’t be able to replace Novak Djokovic as the top ATP player before the Sunshine Double.
Alcaraz, the defending winner, was shocked when Nicolas Jarry beat him 7-6 (7-2), 6-3 in the semi-finals of the ATP 250 event on Saturday. Jarry is ranked No. 2 in the world.
Following his loss, the Spaniard hasn’t won a prize since July 2017, when he won Wimbledon. He has also only made it to one final since then, which was at the Cincinnati Open in August of that year.
The 20-year-old has also made it clear that he wants to get back to the top of the ATP rankings. However, this will be very hard for him to do before the Indian Wells Open.
Since last year’s US Open, Djokovic has been ranked number one. The 24-time Grand Slam winner will likely play next at the ATP Masters 1000 Indian Wells event in early March.
Because Djokovic beat Alcaraz in the semi-finals, he will take a 750-point lead in the rankings on Monday. Behind them, in third place, the fight between Daniil Medvedev and Jannik Sinner has also heated up.
Live ATP – Rankings
Novak Djokovic 9,855 points
Carlos Alcaraz 9,105
Daniil Medvedev 8,265
Jannik Sinner 8,100
The problem for Alcaraz is that he has to protect another 300 points at the Rio Open next week. If he loses, the gap will grow to 1,050 points. On the plus side, if he wins, it will drop to 550 points.
Alcaraz doesn’t have any plans to play in the Mexican Open on February 26, but he could get a wildcard to play in the ATP 500 event. But he would have to win another title for the gap to shrink to just 50 points.
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Djokovic, on the other hand, will lose 180 points at the start of March because he made it to the semifinals of last year’s Dubai Tennis Championships. This would let Alcaraz pass him.
In order to beat Djokovic before the Indian Wells Open, Alcaraz would have to win back-to-back ATP 500 events in Rio and Alcapulco, which is not on his plan right now.
Otherwise, Sinner, who won the Australian Open, could close the gap to Alcaraz if he wins the Rotterdam Open on Sunday and moves ahead of Medvedev.
But the Italian isn’t supposed to play again until Indian Wells. He could still choose to accept a late invite into the Dubai Tennis Championships, though.
