Nadal and Alcaraz greet each other after their confrontation this year in Madrid. /
With Alcaraz number one, never had two national tennis players taken the first two places in the ATP
Spanish tennis had never enjoyed such good health. After a year in which Carlos Alcaraz and Rafa Nadal have been the great shakers on the circuit (three out of four Grand Slams for them), the next ATP ranking will reflect this golden age of the racket. The arrival and consecration in the elite of the Murcian (19 years old) has coincided with the supposed last blows of the Balearic Islands (36). Thus, next Monday they will be number one and two in the world. It is the first time that two national players occupy the first positions of the ATP ranking. In fact, a country hasn’t had the best two since Americans Andre Agassi and Pete Sampras did it in 2000.
Nadal returns to a second world ranking that he has not occupied since April 2021. Shortly after he would leave the circuit due to the pain caused by his degenerative disease -Müller-Weiss syndrome- in his left foot. In an exercise of unparalleled heroism, the man from Manaco returned to the slopes last January to start a spectacular streak of 21 victories, those achieved to lift the 250 in Melbourne, the Australian Open and the 500 in Acapulco. He would later give continuity to his idyll with Roland Garros. Four titles that have led him to be the second best tennis player in the world despite not playing an official match since he fell on September 5 in the round of 16 of the US Open against Frances Tiafoe.
A week ago Nadal made an appearance at the Laver Cup. He formed a doubles pair with his friend Roger Federer, who took advantage of the tournament that measured Europe with the Rest of the World in London to say goodbye to tennis. Given the imminent paternity of him, the Spaniard does not have any tournament scheduled until the Masters 1,000 in Paris (October 31-November 6). However, he has been able to gain a position in the ATP thanks to this Friday’s defeat of Casper Ruud in the quarterfinals of the 250 Korea. The Norwegian won a year ago in San Diego, in the same category, for which he lost 205 points. Ruud now has 5,645 points for the 5,810 that Nadal has.
Both are below world number one Alcaraz, who leads with 6,740 points since winning the US Open title three weeks ago. Twelve months earlier, the Murcian was still a promise by winning the U21 finals and ranking number 32 in the ATP. He now faces the absolute finals from the top and will fight to finish a historic 2022 in first place. The one from El Palmar holds the record this year for titles, with five (the 500 in Rio de Janeiro and Barcelona and the 1,000 Masters in Miami and Madrid, in addition to reigning in New York) and for victories, 52, ahead of Stefanos Tsitsipas (49).
Agassi y Sampras
It has taken more than twenty years for two tennis players from the same country to occupy the first places in the ranking. Alcaraz and Nadal relieve the Americans Andre Agassi and Pete Sampras. Historic rivals, on August 7, 2000 they managed to look at their competitors from the top together.
