ATP RANKINGS UPDATE: Carlos Alcaraz Is 5 points from No.1, Zverev Drops Out Of The Top 20

By Roberto Ferri

Is Carlos Alcaraz going to become what Eddie Merckx was in cycling, a cannibal who wins everything?  The premises for such greatness appear to be quite well-grounded, though from time to time enthused and valiant players, like Jan Lennard-Struff in Madrid, do their best (in vain) to avert such threat.

Thanks to his triumph in his home Masters 1000 in Madrid Alcaraz is just 5 points away from the top spot in the rankings, still held by Novak Djokovic.

In the next two weeks, the Serbian will be defending the 1000 points he earned in Rome last year. This means that Alcaraz, who did not play the Internazionali di Roma last year, will just have to step out on the court once to regain the No. 1 ranking.

TOP 20

Position	Player	Country	Pts	+/-
1	Djokovic	Serbia	6775
2	Alcaraz	Spain	6770
3	Medvedev	Russia	5330
4	Ruud	Norway	5165
5	Tsitsipas	Greece	5015
6	Rublev	Russia	4190
7	Rune	Denmark	3865
8	Sinner	Italy	3525
9	Fritz	USA	3380	1
10	Auger Aliassime	Canada	3235	-1
11	Khachanov	Russia	3025	1
12	Tiafoe	USA	2755	-1
13	Norrie	GB	2680
14	Nadal	Spain	2535
15	Hurkacz	Poland	2525
16	Coric	Croatia	2240	4
17	Paul	USA	2170
18	de Minaur	Australia	1995	1
19	Musetti	Italy	1960	-1
20	Berrettini	Italy	1832	1

Borna Coric makes the most significant move, from No. 20 to No. 16. Alexander Zverev, who had permanently resided in the top 20 since April 2017, drops out and is 22^nd.

FALLS AND RISES

Today we inaugurate a new column dedicated to the 3 tennis players in the top 100 whose rankings most surged or plummeted in the last week.

Falls…

Player	+/-	Ranking
Bonzi	-19	64
Schwartzman	-19	91
Borges	-14	88

…and rises…

Player	+/-	Ranking
Karatsev	68	53
Struff	37	28
Zhang	30	69

NITTO ATP FINALS 

The Race to Turin standing features only one new newcomer in the Top 10: Tommy Paul, runner-up in the Aix-en-Provence Challenger where he was defeated by a rejuvenated Andy Murray, moves up to No.10; Cameron Norrie slips down to 11^th place.

Carlos Alcaraz, thanks to the 1000 points booty he collected in Madrid, has overtaken Daniil Medvedev and has secured the top spot. Stefanos Tsitsipas gains one position whereas Jannik Sinner and Novak Djokovic lose one.

Karen Khachanov has grabbed the No.8 spot at the expense of Holger Rune.

Position	Player	Country	Pts	+/-
1	Alcaraz	Spain	3410	2
2	Medvedev	Russia	3300	-1
3	Djokovic	Serbia	2565	-1
4	Tsitsipas	Greece	2230	1
5	Sinner	Italy	2185	-1
6	Rublev	Russia	2125
7	Fritz	USA	1815
8	Khachanov	Russia	1530	1
9	Rune	Denmark	1525	-1
10	Paul	USA	1375	1

NEXT GEN ATP FINALS

The ranking dedicated to the best under 21s of the ongoing season sees an interesting new-entry, 21-year-old Bu Yunchaocete, who has leapt to 8^th place. Since the two leaders of the ranking, Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner, are unlikely to take part in the finals, 9^th and 10^th rank will be enough to qualify for the finals. 

Position	Player	Country	Pts	YOB	ATP rank
1	Alcaraz	Spain	3410	2003	2
2	Rune	Denmark	1525	2003	8
3	Musetti	Italy	570	2002	19
4	Shelton	USA	535	2002	35
5	Fils	France	370	2004	119
6	Van Assche	France	365	2004	85
7	Stricker	Switzerland	230	2002	115
8	Yunchaokete	China	212	2002	164
9	Cazaux	France	199	2004	197
10	Cobolli	Italy	185	2002	183

BEST RANKING

Eight players have achieved their career highest. A first special mention goes to Jan Leenard-Struff who, just after turning 33 and bouncing back from an injury, has succeeded in breaking into the Top 30 for the first time in his career. Our second special mention is for 22-year-old Italian Matteo Arnaldi who makes his debut in the top 100.

Player	Position	Country
Struff	28	Germany
Shelton	36	USA
Zapata Miralles	38	Spain
M. Ymer	49	Sweden
Zheng	69	China
Van Assche	85	France
Shevchenko	93	Russia
Arnaldi	99	Italy

Translated by Kingsley Elliot Kaye