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Alcaraz and Nadal take over the first two places in the ranking this Monday

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For the first time in 22 years, when Agassi and Sampras did it, two players from the same country will be 1 and 2 in the rankings

Alcaraz and Nadal, before a match.

On August 14, 2000 Andre Agassi he was number 1 in the world and had at his side Pete Sampras, as number 2. It was the last time since the creation of the ranking, in 1973, that two players from the same country captured the first two places in the circuit. All the previous ones had had American tennis players as protagonists, with Jimmy Connors y John McEnroe also litigating for the roof of the ATP. This Monday, separated by 930 points, Carlos Alcaraz y Rafael Nadal will shine on top, after the defeat suffered by Casper Ruud ante Yoshihito Nishioka in the tournament of Sel.

The news speaks of the extraordinary strength of the two Spaniards. Alcaraz, who reached the top, becoming the youngest to achieve it, after winning the US Open, has won five titles this season and is the great sensation of a course in which, in addition, he has won two Masters 1000 (Miami and Madrid). Nadal’s strength is measured in his passage through the Grand Slam tournaments, territory in which he moves better than anyone, as evidenced by his 22 titles. Champion of the Australian Open and Roland Garros, he had to drop out due to injury in the Wimbledon semifinals against Nick Kyrgios. In New York, still not fully recovering from the abdominal rupture, he lost in the round of 16 to Frances Tiafoe.

Sampras and Agassi lived a fruitful rivalry. They met 34 times, with 20 wins of Pistol Pete and 14 of the player from Las Vegas. Sampras’ last victory was in the 2002 US Open final, where he won his fourteenth Grand Slam title. It would also be the last game of his life. His relationship was distant. They only looked at each other with the ball in between and established a similar abyss with the rest of their teammates on the circuit. Those were other times, in which competitive greed hardly allowed anything more than shaking hands at the conclusion of matches.

three clashes

There will be little time for the Alcaraz-Nadal team to become a classic, as the Mallorcan warned at the Mutua Madrid Open, after losing to the Murcian in the quarterfinals. It was the second of their confrontations. Nadal had defeated him in the semifinals of Indian Wells, not without causing a crack in his ribs during the match and, in 2021, with ease, in the second round at the Magic Box. Nadal is 36 years old. Alcaraz, 19. His relationship is good. Reciprocal praise has been dedicated, one speaking of the admiration professed for the extraordinary career of his compatriot and the other envisaging a successful future for the player who was still taking his first steps in top competition.

Alcaraz will premiere his condition as number 1 in the circuit starting Wednesday, after doing so with a defeat against Happy Auger-Also in the Davis Cup. He will do it at the ATP 500 in Astana, against the emerging Norwegian Higher Runewithin a frame in which they are, among others, Daniil Medvedev y Novak Djokovic. The man from Palmar will then play the ATP 500 in Basel, the Masters 1000 in Paris-Bercy and the ATP Finals, to close the year in the Davis Cup Finals. He only defends 180 points in the French capital and loses that same amount for not playing the tournament in Vienna. He has a clear horizon to finish the season as number 1.

Nadal’s closing is more uncertain, due to his imminent paternity and his delicate physical state: he commented that he did not feel well after partnering with Roger Federer in the farewell of the Swiss in the Laver Cup. Under normal conditions he will play in Paris-Bercy and in the ATP Finals, both tournaments where he will have everything to add, since he did not play them last season due to injury. The most precious label already has a relative value for him. He has spent 209 weeks at the top of the ATP and has finished five years without anyone ahead of him.

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