Carlos Alcaraz was always likely to make a huge leap in ATP ranking points at the Australian Open and his latest win has kick-started his push to regain the world No 1 ranking.
Alcaraz’s 6-3 6-7(3) 6-3 7-6(3) against Italy’s Lorenzo Sonego was hard fought, with the 20-year-old Spaniard troubled by the talented Italian in a match that ran for three hours and 25 minutes.
A packed crowd at Rod Laver Arena were thrilled by an enchanting contest that included some memorable points, including a shot from Alcaraz that went around the net post.
While it wasn’t a flawless performance from the Wimbledon champion, he is warming to the task in his first Australian Open since 2022.
Alcaarz’s absence from last year’s tournament due to injury means he has no points to defend in this opening Grand Slam of the year and that means he will eat into Novak Djokovic’s lead at the top of the rankings.
This latest win moves Alcaraz to within 8,955 points in the provisional rankings, just 200 behind his great rival Djokovic.
With the 2,000 points Djokovic collected from his Australian Open win dropping off his ranking this week, Alcaraz could be back at world No 1 if he can win the Australian Open for the first time.
He could also reclaim top spot if Djokovic crashes out early in Melbourne, but the second of those options appears to be unlikely given the 10-time champion’s incredible record at the Australian Open.
“Of course it is a goal,” said Alcaraz, as he spoke about the race to be world No 1 last year.
“As I have said a few times, we have a really beautiful battle to be No 1 in the world, especially after the great performance that Novak had on the last American tour,” he said in September.
“Right now he is No 1, so I come here with extra motivation to try to get him back and place first in the race, as well as in the rankings.
“Like I said, it’s something that I keep in mind every time I’m training, I think about it in every tournament.
“It is not mandatory for me to recover it either, but we have to set goals for the year.
“For me, the No 1 position is one of my main objectives, so in these big tournaments I am going to go for it, to try to do well to be close and recover it.”
Amid some concerns being expressed by pundits over Alcaraz’s form in his opening two matches at the Australian Open, some perspective needs to be sprinkled into this debate.
The 20-year-old is only playing in his third Australian Open and had just three matches on his record in the main draw at Melbourne prior to this tournament.
He was playing in qualifying at the Australian Open in 2021, but expectations have risen to challenging levels as Alcaraz’s rise up the tennis ladder exploded in recent years.
This two-time Grand Slam champion has already achieved feats that seemed impossible at the turn of this decade, so any suggestion that he is ‘expected’ to reach the final of the Australian Open after so little experience in this event seems harsh.
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