Carlos Alcaraz is hoping to stop Jannik Sinner from ruining his plans as the Italian’s winning streak continues.
Carlos Alcaraz is keeping a close eye on Jannik Sinner in the official ATP rankings as the Italian closes in on his No. 2 position. The Spaniard is still trying to regain the top spot after relinquishing it to Novak Djokovic last September. But he knows that Sinner could ruin his plan and leapfrog him if he isn’t at his highest level.
Sinner has emerged as the man to beat in 2024. The 22-year-old is so far undefeated, winning his maiden Grand Slam title at the Australian Open and following it up by lifting the trophy in Rotterdam. With the latter victory, he reached a career-high of No. 3 in the world.
Carlos Alcaraz has been keeping tabs on Sinner and is keen to stop him from catching up in the rankings. The Spaniard currently has 9,105 points while his rival has 8,270. After Alcaraz’s recent injury retirement in Rio, neither man is now set to play an official tournament until Indian Wells next month.
Alcaraz is defending the title and 1,000 ranking points there while Sinner – who reached the semi-final last year – can add to his tally if he progresses further this time around. And the current world No. 2 is well aware that the 22-year-old is breathing down his neck.
“I notice his breath. I think he still got 1,000 points, but for Jannik that’s nothing,” Alcaraz told Marca, discussing Sinner’s current spot in the rankings. But the Spaniard isn’t just hoping to stay ahead of his rival, as he has his eyes set on returning to No. 1 in the world.
He added: “I have to be on top of my game as much as I can to try not to let him catch up with me and regain No. 1.” For now, Djokovic is guaranteed to remain at the top of the rankings until at least April as he has entered Indian Wells and Miami – tournaments he didn’t play last year and can therefore only gain points at.
But Alcaraz will want to remain hot on his heels going into the clay season and will find it even harder to catch Djokovic if Sinner surpasses him first. It’s Sinner who has more work to do when they get to Miami, as the 12-time title winner reached the final last year while Alcaraz only got to the semis so he has more points to defend.
The Italian will arrive at the ‘sunshine double’ undefeated for the year. Sinner has only lost two matches since the US Open last September, a run which spans titles in Rotterdam, the Australian Open, the Davis Cup, Vienna and Beijing. Although Alcaraz is vying to stop his rival from catching him, he is still happy to see Sinner’s success.
Asked what helped the Sinner become unstoppable over the last few months, the two-time Major winner said: “I have always said that there is no secret. He has worked very hard and it has shown. In every tournament he is very focused on the things he has to do, he is a very hard worker.”
It’s something that Alcaraz has already spoken to his own coach about as he continued: “I discuss it with Juan Carlos (Ferrero) many times when we see him. If I compare it with the Sinner from before, it has changed to professional. Before he was, but now he is even more so, working every day and having things clear. The day-to-day work pays off and that is what has happened with Jannik and I am both happy for him and for his team.”
