Carlos Alcaraz has made no secret of the fact that one of his big goals is to return to No 1 in the ATP Rankings at the earliest opportunity and that opportunity will present itself at the upcoming Australian Open.
After starting the 2023 season at No 1, Alcaraz lost top spot to Novak Djokovic after last year’s Australian Open with the Serbian winning the season-opening Grand Slam for a record 10th time.
The world No 1 ranking changed hands seven times during the 2023 campaign and Alcaraz finished No 2 behind Djokovic, who secured the year-end No 1 ranking for a record-extending eighth time.
Throughout the year Alcaraz maintained that being No 1 in the world was one of his major targets.
“Of course it is a goal. As I have said a few times, we have a really beautiful battle to be No 1 in the world, especially after the great performance that Novak had on the last American tour,” he said in September.
The Spaniard added: “Right now he is No 1, so I come here with extra motivation to try to get him back and place first in the race, as well as in the rankings. Like I said, it’s something that I keep in mind every time I’m training, I think about it in every tournament.
“It is not mandatory for me to recover it either, but we have to set goals for the year. For me, the No 1 position is one of my main objectives, so in these big tournaments I am going to go for it, to try to do well to be close and recover it.”
But it was Djokovic who finished the year at the top with 11,245 points – a massive 2,390 points ahead of second-placed Alcaraz on 8,855 points while Daniil Medvedev was another 1,255 behind the Spaniard.
But the gap between Djokovic and Alcaraz has been reduced further at the start of the 2024 season as the Serbian dropped 190 points from his 2023 Adelaide International title run.
Current top three in the ATP Rankings:
Novak Djokovic 11,055
Carlos Alcaraz 8,855
Daniil Medvedev 7,555
However, there will be more changes come the start of the season-opening Grand Slam as Djokovic is the defending champion while Alcaraz missed last year’s tournament due to injury. Medvedev, meanwhile, lost in the third round.
Top three once 2023 Australian Open points drop off:
Novak Djokovic 9,055
Carlos Alcaraz 8,855
Daniil Medvedev 7,465
What Carlos Alcaraz needs to do to return to No 1:
Alcaraz’s No 1 hopes are in his own hands as winning the 2024 Australian Open will see him return to the top of the ATP Rankings regardless of Djokovic’s performance at Melbourne Park.
There are other scenarios at play as the Spaniard could also return to No 1 if he makes it to the quarter-final, semi-final or final and Djokovic fails to equal or better his result.
Of course, if Djokovic successfully defends his title then he will remain at No 1.
Medvedev also has an outside chance of returning to No 1 for a third spell, but he needs to win the title and then hope both Djokovic and Alcaraz exit the Australian Open relatively early.
