Alcaraz and a golden opportunity to beat a personal record in the ATP ranking
Spanish is close to surpassing its best historical record in the ATP ranking, which is the third best mark ever seen. In Indian Wells and Miami, there is room to add more.
A living history of world tennis. That's what we are witnessing with Carlos Alcaraz in a stage that could be forever remembered as the first steps of one of the most dazzling empires of all time in this sport. As proof of the current Spanish dominance, there is the ATP ranking, where not only does he lead Sinner by more than 3,000 points but also challenges historical records.
Having recently secured the title at the Australian Open, less than a month ago, the young man from Murcia established the third-highest score of all time in the ATP ranking, with a whopping 13,650 points. His absence in Rotterdam led to a loss of 500 points, but winning the title in Doha added another 400 points to Carlos, who will start next Monday in the official update with 13,550 points.
Besides solidifying his position as the world number 1 until April, he positions himself favorably to improve his personal best and approach the two highest scores of all time held by Rafael Nadal (15,390 points, in 2009) and Novak Djokovic (16,950 points, in 2016). While it's true that he will have little room to score during the clay court season, he will face the first two Masters 1000 of the year, Indian Wells and Miami, with real chances to push his limits beyond his Melbourne starting point.
What is the maximum ATP ranking score Carlos Alcaraz could achieve before the clay court season?
It is inevitable to ask this question given the confidence level and tennis prowess of the young Murcian. Nothing can be taken for granted, especially in highly demanding tournaments like the first Masters 1000 of the season, but Carlos will have a golden opportunity to add more points to his already brilliant ATP ranking. At Indian Wells, he will defend 400 points from last year's semifinals, and any victory in Miami will increase his personal count.
Hence, of the 2,000 points at stake, Alcaraz could potentially earn 1,590 points if he were to win both events. It's a feat achievable by very few and one of those challenges that will greatly excite the young player and that he will seek to accomplish at some point in his career. If he achieves it this year, he will enter the clay court season with 15,140 points. Nevertheless, he would still trail behind the records of Nadal and Federer, yet significantly raising the third-best score of all time, which he already holds.
In any case, it seems feasible that he could break the 14,000 points barrier, which he could achieve by defending the semifinals in California and reaching the final in Florida, for instance. Parallel to this and closely related is the goal of extending his lead over Jannik Sinner, assuming the Italian will be closing the current gap of 3,150 points and will aggressively pursue Carlos Alcaraz during the clay court season, where Carlos will have limited opportunities to score due to his streak of titles from the past year.
This is an automatic translation. You can read the original news, Alcaraz y una oportunidad de oro para batir un récord personal en el ranking ATP