As it often happens in the major tennis events, top players are not only battling for the title, but for the ATP No.1 crown as well.
This edition of the Australian Open 2023 boasts a record-breaking pack of contenders: in fact, four players will be battling to grasp the first rank: Carlos Alcaraz, Novak Djokovic, Casper Ruud and Stefanos Tsitsipas. Some may be surprised that Rafael Nadal, currently No. 2, is not taking part in the race. The Spaniard cannot gain points since he won the tournament last year. This means he will be defending the 2000 points he earned in 2022 and cannot improve his current 5,770-point portfolio even if he were to conquer his third AO title.
ALCARAZ – Is Alcaraz going to lose his throne? The past months have been rather tough for the young king. After missing the last events of 2022 due to an abdominal injury, he has also been forced to pull out from the Australian Open due to a right leg muscle injury which occurred during training. Therefore he will not be able to defend on court his first position. He will be losing the 90 points he earned by reaching the third round last year and will be left with 6,730 points. Will it be enough? That will depend on his contenders’ results. Whatever the outcome of the Australian Open, he will succeed in reaching 20 weeks at the number 1 spot, equalling Mats Wilander, and becoming the 17th player in tennis history to attain such a record.
RUUD – The Norwegian will not be dropping any points, since last year he missed the Australian Open because of an ankle injury. If he wins he will mathematically be No. 1. But reaching the final could even be enough to grasp the crown. If this were to happen, he would be the first tennis player in history to become number 1 without having won a Major, a Masters 1000 or an ATP 500.
TSITSIPAS – He will be defending the 720 points of his 2022 semifinal. A No.2 seed this year and three-times semi-finalist in Melbourne he’s after a definitive consecration in the Tennis Olympus. To secure the top spot in the rankings he will have to win the tournament. In the United Cup, he has already showcased excellent form and such a result seems within his reach.
DJOKOVIC – The 21-Slam winner will obviously not be dropping any points as he couldn’t play in the Australian Open 2022 owing to his vaccination status. By winning a 10th title in Melbourne he will be back on the throne he has already occupied for 373 weeks. In fact, he would rise to 7070 ATP points, a figure which cannot be reached by any other player. He has started his campaign quite impressively winning in Adelaide. Minor physical issues appear to be the only creak in his shining armour.
Translated from ubitennis.com by Kingsley Elliot Kaye
