Carlos Alcaraz has a looming threat to his World No. 1 ranking, with arch-rival Jannik Sinner closing in fast. However, the Spaniard appears largely unfazed and delivered a blunt response when asked about the situation.
Currently competing at the Monte-Carlo Masters to kick off his clay-court swing, Alcaraz arrived after a disappointing Sunshine Double, falling in the semifinals at the Indian Wells Masters and exiting in the third round of the Miami Open.
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As the top seed in Monte Carlo, Alcaraz opened his campaign against Sebastian Baez and cruised through with a dominant 6-1, 6-3 win to reach the third round. After the victory, he was asked during his on-court interview about the possibility of losing the No. 1 ranking to Sinner.
Alcaraz kept it straightforward, saying:
“To be honest, I’m gonna lose the No. 1 of the world. I don’t know if it’s gonna be in this tournament or the next one. I’m defending a bunch of points and it’s gonna be really difficult to defend all. If I defend them, Jannik is going to add some points in this tournament [as] he doesn’t have to defend points in this tournament. So I will try to play my best and let’s see what happens.”
“But obviously of course for me the No. 1 spot is not in my mind right now. I’m just trying to feel as good as I can on clay court and let’s see what’s gonna be the clay swing,” he added.
Carlos Alcaraz, who is the defending champion at the Monte-Carlo Masters, has a significant 4,300 points to defend during the claycourt swing. Meanwhile, Jannik Sinner went titleless on clay last year, potentially giving the Italian a smoother path in his push for the top spot in the ATP rankings.
Jannik Sinner advised not to chase Carlos Alcaraz for World No. 1 spot by former Italian pro
Paolo Bertolucci, a retired Italian pro, has weighed in on Jannik Sinner’s pursuit of Carlos Alcaraz’s World No. 1 ranking. His comments came after Sinner kicked off his campaign at the Monte-Carlo Masters with a commanding 6-3, 6-0 win over Ugo Humbert on Tuesday.
Bertolucci suggested that Sinner shouldn’t be overly concerned about reaching No. 1 right now. In his view, what truly matters is sustaining performance across the season and finishing the year at the top of the rankings, rather than achieving it temporarily.
“The World No. 1 ranking is simply a consequence of results,” Bertolucci told La Gazzetta dello Sport. I don’t think it’s that important. What really matters is finishing the year at the top of the ATP rankings, because there are also bonuses linked to sponsorships.”
“No one can be number one all season, and I think all this frenzy around the rankings is unfounded,” he added.
For now, Jannik Sinner will shift his focus to his next match, where he is set to face either Francisco Cerundolo or Tomas Machac on Thursday, April 9. Meanwhile, Carlos Alcaraz is scheduled to take on either Tomas Martin Etcheverry or Terence Atmane on the same day.
Edited by Pritha Ghosh
