Carlos Alcaraz is in a remarkable situation going into the ATP Finals, which get underway in Turin next week.
Alcaraz has been practising on the same court that will be used at the ATP Finals as he aims to win the event for the first time in his career.
But the Spanish star is out of form ahead of the tournament, with Alexander Zverev overtaking Alcaraz in the world rankings this week.
Zverev lifted his seventh ATP Masters 1000 trophy at the Paris Masters, overcoming home star Ugo Humbert in Sunday’s final to move second in the rankings.
Now in third place, Alcaraz suffered a shock round of 16 exit to Humbert, having also suffered a shock defeat to Tomas Machac in the Shanghai Masters quarter-finals.
Carlos Alcaraz likely to finish 2024 outside ATP Tour top two
It means despite winning four tour-level titles this season, including two Grand Slams, Alcaraz is heading for a likely year-end finish outside the ATP Tour top two.
World number one Jannik Sinner, in contrast, has seven titles to his name, with the Italian having won the other two Grand Slams.
Zverev meanwhile now has two titles in 2024, but the German’s consistency across the board has been rewarded with a return to world number two.
Carlos Alcaraz needs to be more consistent in 2025
The Spaniard did, of course, also clinch an Olympic silver medal this season, having lost the final in Paris to Novak Djokovic.
But unfortunately for Alcaraz, the tournament did not offer ranking points, with the Olympics rightly instead about players representing their nations on the big stage.
Along with that encounter in France, the Spanish superstar lost his Six Kings Slam final meeting with Sinner.
But Alcaraz can be extremely proud of his ATP Tour final record in 2024, boasting a 100% record from his four finals.
Zverev and Djokovic were beaten at the French Open and Wimbledon respectively, with Daniil Medvedev and Sinner beaten at the Indian Wells and China Open respectively.
Losing early in other events has, however, made a real impact on Alcaraz’s current ranking, with consistency now needing to be added to the 21-year-old’s near-impeccable game.
