Carlos Alcaraz Returns to the Court: Can He Reclaim the Number One Spot?

Carlos Alcaraz in Beijing (EFE/EPA/ANDRÉS MARTÍNEZ CASARES)

Carlos Alcaraz is about to return to the slopes. The world number two has not competed since the US Open and will do so again on the first Asian tour to be held in tennis after the pandemic. Three years later, the best rackets in the world land again in China, with the ATP 500 in Beijing as the first stop. The world number two will debut there this Friday, with the aim of returning to the ATP leadership before the end of the year.

The Spaniard starts as the first seed in the Chinese capital, since Novak Djokovic drops out of the competition. He will not have an easy time winning the title, since the draw has presented him with a very demanding picture after spending about three weeks without playing. It would be in the final rounds when Alcaraz would have especially fearsome rivals on the other side of the net.

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Alcaraz at the last US Open (Danielle Parhizkaran-USA TODAY Sports)

In the first round, Alcaraz will have to overcome a player from the previous phase, the German Yannick Hanfmann. The Murcian has never faced the 53rd in the ranking, so the head to head between the two will begin in a few hours. In the round of 16, Karen Khachanov or Lorenzo Musetti would wait. He has beaten the first, 14th in the world, on the three occasions in which they have met. Regarding the second, number 18, there is a 1-1 balance: the last time they played, at the last Roland Garros, Alcaraz won.

Already in the quarterfinals, the one from El Palmar could face off against Casper Ruud, who has the measure taken: full of victories (three) against the ninth fittest tennis player on the planet, against whom Alcaraz has not competed since the final in which he was proclaimed champion of the 2022 US Open. The hypothetical semifinals would also be very interesting, since Holger Rune or Jannik Sinner could cross his path.

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With Rune, number four, Alcaraz has a favorable head to head 1-2, with a victory in the last Wimbledon quarterfinals as the most immediate precedent. As for Sinner, number seven, the equality is maximum: 3-3, with the Italian winning the semifinals in Miami in April. It is the most recent occasion in which it has been possible to attend one of the most desirable duels courtesy of the Next Gen tennis.

If he reached the final, Carlitos should theoretically surpass his executioner in New York: Daniil Medvedev, third racket in contention. In the event that this duel takes place and he wins it, the statistics would favor him against the Russian, since there have been two wins for each, to date, when they have played against each other.

Alcaraz in a file image (EFE/EPA/WILL OLIVER)

“I come here with extra motivation to try to close the gap in the standings. Like I said, it’s something that I keep in mind every time I train, in every tournament,” Alcaraz declared in advance of an event in which he really wants to debut: “I’ve always wanted to come here and play in front of the Chinese public and feel what they have told me the players felt, that there is a lot of tennis.”

2023-09-27 11:38:23
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