Carlos Alcaraz is working his way up the rankings like a steamroller.
In Rio, after dismissing Berrettini and Fognini, he didn’t give Diego Schwartzman a chance in the final, and smashed his career best by reaching 19th position. UbiTennis must also make amends to the 18-year-old from Murcia because, back in 2020, when he won three Challengers we still cast some doubts concerning his potential. Indeed we believed he may just be a shadow of Nadal.
Admittedly, we were misguided by his macho attitude and his sleeveless T-shirts which showcased his muscled biceps. We started changing our mind last year when he reached the quarterfinals at the US Open. He rose to such occasion proving that Spanish clay courter weaknesses could vanish on fast courts. Now that his performances are just as impeccable on clay, we have definitely understood the kid is getting serious and we expect him to burst into the top 10 very soon.
ATP computer algorithms can sometimes be puzzling. Lorenzo Musetti, in spite of lying in bed trying to fight off a 38° temperature, saw his ranking soar to a career best at 54. Quite a challenge awaits him, since the points he earned in Acapulco last year are going to be dropped.
Francisco Cerundolo made a huge leap. By reaching the semifinals in Rio he has moved up to 75th position and overtaken his brother Juan Manuel. The two are going to clash in the upcoming ATP 250 in Santiago, and surely it will be a thrilling feud.
Another player who is making progress is Alexandar Vukic. The Australian has just won the Bengaluru 2 Challenger and has gained 20 positions, setting his career best at No. 115.
Thanks to his Challenger title in Forlì, his second of the year, the Brit Jack Draper goes on improving his ranking, currently 161. He is likely to go very far, and fast.
ATP Rankings update
This week’s rankings have seen a few other changes as the points the players earned in the 2021 Australian Open have been deleted.
Let’s have a look at the new Top 20:
| Position | Player | Country | Pts | +/- |
| 1 | Djokovic | Serbia | 8875 | |
| 2 | Medvedev | Russia | 8435 | |
| 3 | Zverev | Germany | 7515 | |
| 4 | Tsitsipas | Greece | 6565 | |
| 5 | Nadal | Spain | 6515 | |
| 6 | Berrettini | Italia | 4928 | |
| 7 | Rublev | Russia | 4590 | |
| 8 | Ruud | Norway | 3975 | |
| 9 | Auger-Aliassime | Canada | 3883 | |
| 10 | Sinner | Italy | 3429 | |
| 11 | Hurkacz | Poland | 3333 | |
| 12 | Norrie | GB | 3070 | 1 |
| 13 | Schwartzman | Argentina | 2865 | 1 |
| 14 | Shapovalov | Canada | 2863 | -2 |
| 15 | Bautista Agut | Spain | 2585 | 1 |
| 16 | Fritz | USA | 2265 | 1 |
| 17 | Carreno Busta | Spain | 2181 | 1 |
| 18 | Opelka | USA | 2156 | 2 |
| 19 | Basilashvili | Georgia | 2156 | 3 |
| 20 | Alcaraz | Spain | 2061 | 9 |
A couple of comments:
∙ The numerical abyss which had separated Djokovic and the second ranked player for such a long time has drastically shrunk. Daniil Medvedev is going to try and take his crown this week in Acapulco, while the Serbian will try to preserve his primacy playing in Dubai.
∙ The Top Twenty once more features two USA players with both Taylor Fritz and Reilly Opelka reaching their career best.
∙ It’s the second week in a row that Lorenzo Sonego has just missed securing 20th position. A week ago he was overtaken at the very last moment by Opelka, this week by Alcaraz.
∙ Cristian Garin and Aslan Karatsev have dropped out of the top 20.
NEXT GEN
Carlos Alcaraz now leads the rankings of the best under 21 players.
| Position | Player | Country | Pts | YOB | ATP Rank |
| 1 | Alcaraz | Spain | 590 | 2003 | 20 |
| 2 | Sinner | Italy | 440 | 2001 | 10 |
| 3 | Lehecka | Czechia | 251 | 2001 | 92 |
| 4 | Draper | USA | 176 | 2001 | 162 |
| 5 | Musetti | Italy | 145 | 2002 | 58 |
| 6 | Stricker | Switzerland | 142 | 2002 | 161 |
| 7 | Nakashima | USA | 95 | 2001 | 75 |
| 8 | Tseng | Taipei | 80 | 2001 | 167 |
| 9 | Nardi | Italy | 57 | 2003 | 283 |
NITTO ATP FINALS RACE
Roberto Bautista Agut and Diego Schwartzman have gained positions while Shapovalov and Monfils have lost two:
| Position | Player | Country | Pts |
| 1 | Nadal | Spain | 2250 |
| 2 | Medvedev | Russia | 1495 |
| 3 | Auger-Aliassime | Canada | 1400 |
| 4 | Tsitsipas | Greece | 1125 |
| 5 | Berrettini | Italy | 855 |
| 6 | Bautista Agut | Spain | 800 |
| 7 | Schwartzman | Argentina | 735 |
| 8 | Shapovalov | Canada | 695 |
| 9 | Monfils | France | 610 |
Guess who occupies the 10th place… A booming Spanish 18-year-old? That’s right.
BEST RANKING
Triple hurrah for 10 players who achieved their career best.
| Player | Position | Country |
| Fritz | 16 | USA |
| Opelka | 18 | USA |
| Alcaraz | 20 | Spain |
| Bublik | 30 | Kazakhstan |
| Paul | 39 | USA |
| Griekspoor | 57 | Netherlands |
| Molkan | 69 | Slovakia |
| F. Cerundolo | 76 | Argentina |
| Majchrzak | 77 | Poland |
| Otte | 82 | Germany |
A last question for you: how do you pronounce the surname of the 77th player in the world?
NOTE: Articles was origionally posted on ubitennis.com and translated by Kingsley Elliot Kaye
