After his surprise defeat at the Paris Masters, Carlos Alcaraz is facing the possibility of exiting the world’s top two on Monday which could play a role in his draw from the upcoming ATP Finals.
The four-time Grand Slam champion suffered a 6-1, 3-6, 7-5, loss to Ugo Humbert at the final Masters event of 2024 in Paris on Thursday. It is the only the second Masters event this season he has failed to reach the quarter-final stage after Concinatti which took place shortly after the Olympic Games. Alcaraz also suffered a disappointing result at the Paris tournament 12 months ago when he lost in the second round to Roman Safiullin.
“I think I could play better. I think that’s obvious. But with the level that I had, I think I competed and I gave everything. I fought until the last point.” Alcaraz said after his match against Humbert.
“I have to congratulate Ugo. I think his performance has been really high. The way he hits the ball is unbelievable. It’s amazing.
“I think every time that he plays against me, I feel like he increase his level. He plays a really high level of tennis. I think in Paris even more so.”
The implication of the defeat is that it has opened the door for Alexander Zverev to overtake Alcaraz in the PIF ATP Rankings and clinch the No.2 spot. To achieve this, the German needs to reach the final in Paris. Zverev, who is the first player since Rafael Nadal in 2017 to reach the round of 16 of every Masters 1000 in the same season, will play Stefanos Tsitsipas in the quarter-finals on Friday. The winner then faces either former champion Holger Rune or Alex de Minaur.
Should Zverev make it through to the title match, at the ATP Finals Alcaraz is more likely to be placed in the same group as world No.1 Jannik Sinner instead of opposite groups. The top two players head each group and then a draw takes place to allocate the six other players.
However, such a situation occurring shouldn’t worry the Spaniard too much considering he has beaten Sinner in all three of their meetings so far this season. Although it will be a tougher challenge facing Sinner on home territory.
The ATP Finals will get underway on November 10th in Turin. So far Sinner, Alcaraz, Zverev, Daniil Medvedev and Taylor Fritz have secured their place in the event.
