One week before Wimbledon Carlos Alcaraz returns No. 1. A prelude to further glory?
by Roberto Ferri
On 1st July 1979, on the Formula 1 circuit of Dijon, René Arnoux and Gilles Villeneuve fought one of the most enthralling sport’s battles of all times, an endless and thrilling succession of overtakes and counter-overtakes. At the end it was Villeneuve who triumphed, by 14 hundredths of a second.
Why are we evoking this sports event? What’s it got to do with tennis?
Simply because, mutatis mutandis – the challenge between Novak Djokovic and Carlos Alcaraz for the top spot of the ATP Ranking has brought back the memories of that race, since the two tennis champs have already passed each other the leadership baton 4 times this year.
By winning the Queen’s in glamorous style, his first title on grass, Alcaraz earns an 80 point margin on his rival and secures 1st seed at Church Road.
TOP 20
| Position | Player | Country | Pts | +/- |
| 1 | Alcaraz | Spain | 7675 | 1 |
| 2 | Djokovic | Serbia | 7595 | -1 |
| 3 | Medvedev | Russia | 5890 | |
| 4 | Ruud | Norway | 4960 | |
| 5 | Tsitsipas | Greece | 4670 | |
| 6 | Rune | Denmark | 4510 | |
| 7 | Rublev | Russia | 4255 | |
| 8 | Sinner | Italy | 3345 | 1 |
| 9 | Fritz | USA | 3310 | -1 |
| 10 | Tiafoe | USA | 3085 | |
| 11 | Khachanov | Russia | 3035 | |
| 12 | Auger-Aliassime | Canada | 2760 | |
| 13 | Norrie | GB | 2610 | |
| 14 | Coric | Croatia | 2305 | |
| 15 | Musetti | Italy | 2200 | 1 |
| 16 | de Minaur | Australia | 2115 | 2 |
| 17 | Paul | USA | 2110 | -2 |
| 18 | Hurkacz | Poland | 2060 | -1 |
| 19 | Cerundolo | Argentina | 1655 | |
| 20 | Carreno Busta | Spain | 1640 |
The two ATP 500 of last week have brought a few slight changes in the top 20:
· Jannik Sinner has gained one position. overtaking Taylor Fritz
· Lorenzo Musetti has broken into the best 15 in the world for the first time in his young career
· Thanks to his brilliant run at the Queen’s, de Minaur moves up 2 positions and is 16th
· We cannot not mention Alexnder Bublik, who is the riser of the week. His electrifying triumph in Halle has rocketed him up 26 positions and he’s just out of the top 20, at No. 22.
NITTO ATP RACE TO TURIN
No great changes in the ranking based on the results of the ongoing season, which will see the best 8 battle for the title of the NITTO ATP Finals in Turin starting from 12th November. Carlos Alcaraz overtakes Daniil Medvedev and is second only to Novak Djokovic. Andrey Rublev, another lead actor last week edges past Jannik Sinner, and is at No. 6.
| Position | Player | Country | Pts |
| 1 | Djokovic | Serbia | 4745 |
| 2 | Alcaraz | Russia | 4675 |
| 3 | Medvedev | Spain | 4400 |
| 4 | Tsitsipas | Greece | 2995 |
| 5 | Rune | Denmark | 2665 |
| 6 | Rublev | Italy | 2605 |
| 7 | Sinner | Russia | 2455 |
| 8 | Ruud | Norway | 2205 |
| 9 | Fritz | USA | 2040 |
| 10 | Khachanov | Russia | 1900 |
NEXT GEN
The Next Gen Race, the ATP calendar-year points ranking of the best under 21 players is unchanged from last week. Since the two leaders, Alcaraz and Rune are likely to qualify for the ATP finals, their places at the NEXT GEN FINALS will be at disposal of the ninth and tenth best ranked.
| Position | Player | Country | Pts | YOB | ATP Rank |
| 1 | Alcaraz | Spain | 4675 | 2003 | 1 |
| 2 | Rune | Denmark | 2665 | 2003 | 6 |
| 3 | Musetti | Italy | 975 | 2002 | 15 |
| 4 | Fils | France | 693 | 2004 | 58 |
| 5 | Shelton | USA | 600 | 2002 | 35 |
| 6 | Van Assche | France | 447 | 2004 | 79 |
| 7 | Cazaux | France | 339 | 2002 | 139 |
| 8 | Stricker | Switzerland | 281 | 2002 | 117 |
| 9 | Cobolli | Italy | 278 | 2002 | 150 |
| 10 | Medjedovic | Serbia | 261 | 2003 | 156 |
BEST RANKING
This week nine players in the top 100 have achieved a career highest:
| Player | Position | Country |
| Musetti | 15 | Italy |
| Korda | 25 | USA |
| Bublik | 26 | Kazakhstan |
| Hanfmann | 48 | Germany |
| Zhang | 54 | China |
| Fils | 58 | France |
| Varillas | 60 | Peru |
| Ofner | 69 | Austria |
| Muller | 82 | France |
Translated by Kingsley Elliot Kaye
