low of Australian Open due to a muscular injury in the right leg, Carlos Alcaraz, number one in the world, is still “present” in Melbourne. It is that, from a distance, he is one of the protagonists of the race for the first place in the world ranking, which could change hands after the first Grand Slam of the season. The 19-year-old from Murcia will cede leadership if one of the two players who still have a chance to dethrone him, Stefanos Tsitsipas y Novak Djokovicis crowned champion on the oceanic courts.
Alcaraz, who injured the semimembranosus muscle in his right leg during training prior to the tournament and was left wanting to play his first Major as number one, will lose the 90 points he had to defend. Thus, he will appear in the next ranking update with 6,730. That is the figure that his pursuers will have to overcome to bring him down from the top. To do so, both the Greek and the Serb will have to lift the trophy.
Tsitsipas, who was a semifinalist in Australia in 2022 and took 720 points, is fourth today with 5,715. If he reaches the final, he will leave Melbourne with 6,195, a smaller harvest than the Spaniard has today.
But if he shouts champion, who won the Monte Carlo Masters 1000 and the Mallorca ATP last year and accumulates 9 titles, he will add 6,995 points and climb to the top for the first time.
The best current history of the Hellenic in a contest of this category was at Roland Garros 2021, when he lost in the decisive duel with Djokovic. In Australia he reached the semis three times: 2019, 2021 and in the last edition.
In the same scenario is Djokovic. The Serbian wants to recover No. 1, which he ceded last year as a result, above all, of his lack of activity (he missed several big events, such as Melbourne and New York, due to his refusal to get vaccinated against Covid). And to do that, he must win the title.
It is that today he is fifth with 5,070 units and, although he does not defend units either, if he is a finalist he would only reach 6,270, insufficient to lower Alcaraz. But if he gets his 10th title in the tournament and his 22nd in a Grand Slam, he would add 7,070 and jump back to the first step.
The two have already secured their places in the third round of the contest.
Tsitsipas started with a 6-3, 6-4, 7-6 (8-6) victory against the Frenchman Quentin Halys (64th) and then crushed the local 6-3, 6-0 and 6-2 Rinky Hijikata (169th and one of the guests of the organization). His next rival will be the Dutchman Tallon Greek Railway (61°).
Meanwhile, Djokovic beat the Spanish with authority 6-3, 6-4 and 6-0 Roberto Carballes Baena (75) and in the second round, he had to work a little harder to defeat the French 6-1, 6-7 (5-7), 6-2 and 6-0 Enzo Couacaud, coming from the qualy, in a duel in which he received medical attention for a discomfort in his left leg. He will now go for the pass to the round of 16 against the Bulgarian Grigor Dimitrov27° preclassified.
Casper Ruud, third in the ranking with 5,720 points, had also started the tournament with a chance to be number one and become the first Norwegian to reach the top. He was the one in the best position to displace Alcaraz, because since he did not play in the tournament last year due to injury, he did not defend units.
He had to reach the final, and hope that neither Tsitsipas nor Djokovic won it, or be crowned champion to leave Melbourne as the leader. But his defeat in the second round against the American Jenson Brooksby by 6-3, 7-5, 6-7 (7-9) and 6-2 left him out of the race.
Nadal had no chance
Rafael Nadal he suffered a severe blow in the second round of the tournament. Not so much for the result – although he fell in straight sets, 6-4, 6-4 and 7-5, against the American Mackenzie MacDonald (63rd), an inferior rival on paper, but who played a great game-, but because of the left hip injury, which limited him physically during the match and threatens to take him away from the circuit again for some time, at least.
The early elimination cost the Spaniard the chance to add his 23rd Grand Slam and establish himself as the greatest winner in history in this category, a record that Djokovic could now match. But he did not leave him out of the race for the No. 1 because, in reality, he had no chance of surpassing his compatriot even shouting champion.
Is that Rafa, who is second in the ranking with 5,770 points, had to defend the 2,000 that he added last year when he won the title. At best, if he repeated the celebration, he would leave Melbourne with the same crop he has today.
What will happen now with his ranking? The fall in the second round will make him lose 1,955 units (45 will be awarded for reaching that instance), he will remain with 3,815 and will descend, at least, to sixth place. Likewise, for the 36-year-old Spaniard, the ATP ranking stopped being a priority a while ago. His main objective is to stay healthy to extend his career as much as possible and continue fighting for important titles.
