Djokovic secures number one spot as Alcaraz falls short in Paris-Bercy

Alcaraz celebrates a point against Zverev (REUTERS).

“All the options I had to finish the season as number one are gone,” said Carlos Alcaraz after his surprising defeat against the Russian Safiullin on the day of his debut in Paris-Bercy. The tournament had just started, it was not known what Novak Djokovic was going to do, but the Spaniard already sensed that he was going to go far and the Serbian fulfilled Carlitos’s predictions. He won the title after beating Dimitrov in the final, rediscovered with his best tennis in the French capital, where Djokovic was crowned for the seventh time and extended his advantage with Alcaraz in the fight that both maintain to end the year with number one of the world under his arm.

Alcaraz’s game has suffered greatly in the second half of the year. Since he lifted the title at Wimbledon for the first time, his performance has gone downhill. Something that was especially noticeable on the Asian tour and, above all, at the Paris Masters 1000, during which he was eliminated at the first opportunity. The hard court has not been a great ally for the Murcian to date, but he hoped to regain sensations in the Masters Cup and his debut against Zverev confirmed them.

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Alcaraz had to reach the tie break to score the first set of the match that started it uphill. In less than half an hour, as a result of the powerful and precise serve of the German tennis player, he found himself 1-3 down. The Murcian needed a reaction to get back into the fight for the set and it came in the form of a spike plagued by Numantina defenses and closed with a lob that not even the almost two meters tall Zverev could counteract. It was the beginning of the end for the German tennis player in a first round that bore the name Carlitos.

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CARLOS ALCARAZ THAT IS INCREDIBLE ????@carlosalcaraz #NittoATPFinals pic.twitter.com/N6tnhzyBVW

— Tennis TV (@TennisTV) November 13, 2023

Last Monday Djokovic lost the 600 points from Paris-Bercy 2022 and added the 1,000 for this year’s title. He also had points deducted from last season’s ATP Finals, so he leads the ranking with 9,945 points. He is followed by Alcaraz with 8,455 units, 1,490 less after the last update after Paris, where he only accumulated ten points. A scarce loot for Carlos’s initial idea when he landed in the French capital, but key to Novak not being awarded number one until the end of the year, since he needed precisely that amount for it.

There was only one last tournament left on the calendar for the Murcian’s assault on the top of tennis, the ATP Finals, an event whose format is peculiar. After a first group stage with three games, the first two advance to the semifinals and the winners to the final. Each victory in the initial phase means 200 points, 400 more are awarded to the finalists and 500 more to the champion. Therefore, the undefeated winner can accumulate up to 1,500 points. And that condition is Alcaraz’s only option to finish 2023 at the top of the ATP ranking.

The Murcian had to take the tournament in an immaculate manner and hope that Djokovic does not achieve a single victory, not even in the group stage. Combination that has not occurred because the second part of the equation was solved with the opposite result. The Serbian defeated Rune and will finish the season as number one for the eighth time in his sporting career. Next Monday, the day after the last tournament of the season ends, Nole will celebrate 400 weeks as ATP leader. That day the Serbian will already be in Malaga to represent Serbia in the Davis Cup, and try to bring his country’s second victory in this competition.

2023-11-13 15:52:00
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