Carlos Alcaraz hopes of finishing season no. 1 are now far from materializing. The Spanish youngster, after winning the Wimbledon championship in July, has struggled to win a title since then. Alcaraz fell to defeat thrice in a row, losing to Daniil Medvedev at the US Open semifinals, then at the China Open semifinals, and to Grigor Dimitrov in the Rolex Shanghai Masters round of 32.
The heaviest blow came at the ongoing Paris Masters 1000 where Alcaraz suffered a shock defeat to qualifier Roman Safiullin in the opening rounds. With the stunning elimination, Novak Djokovic is set to extend his lead from 500 points to 1,495 points.
Djokovic eyes Paris triumph to strengthen year-end No. 1 bid
Carlos Alcaraz’s early defeat at the Rolex Paris Masters has greater consequences than his elimination from the season’s final ATP Masters 1000 event. With the stunning loss, the Spanish star’s chances of earning a second consecutive ATP Year-End no. 1 spot have dropped significantly. Novak Djokovic, the six-time Paris Masters champion now has the opportunity to press his advantage.
Novak Djokovic leads Alcaraz by 500 points in the Pepperstone ATP Live Race To Turin and the Serbian could extend his lead to 1,495 points if he wins his 7th Paris trophy in Bercy. A gap that wide means that the battle for no. 1 spot is out of Carlos Alcaraz’s reach with only ATP 250 events in Metz open to him but wouldn’t and then ATP Finals in Turin, where a maximum of 1,500 points are up for grabs.
Also, Should Djokovic emerge victorious at the Rolex Paris Masters tournament, he would be extending his record of year-end No. 1 finishes to eight. But if Djokovic suffers an early defeat, Alcaraz would still have a chance to put pressure on Novak Djokovic ahead of the Nitto ATP Finals. World no. 3 Daniil Medvedev is also alive in the battle for year-end no. 1 position, even though the Russian is 1,755 points behind Djokovic in the race.
Novak Djokovic, who has not competed in any tournament since helping Serbia reach the finals of the Davis Cup will play Argentine Tomas Martin Etcheverry in the round of 32, with the winner to play Dutchman Tallon Griekspoor for a place in the Paris quarter-finals.
Safiullin shocks Alcaraz with impressive win
World No 2 Carlos Alcaraz suffered a shock defeat to qualifier and world no. 45 Roman Safiullin at the opening rounds of the Paris Masters. This is the first time Carlos Alcaraz lost his opening match of a tournament this season.The Russian defeated Alcaraz 6-3 6-4 straight set.
Safiullin said after beating Alcaraz: “Against Carlos and these top-10, top-20 guys, you have to lift up the level. I managed to do it. For Carlos, it was not his best performance, but still I’m happy that I can win. Even if he’s not in the best shape it’s tough to beat him, so I’m really happy that I made it.
“Everything against these guys [is important]. Tactical, physical, the mental part. [It’s key] to stay focused from the beginning to the end. Who can make it longer is going to be the winner,” Saufiullin added.
The 26-year-old has been in form since June this season, reaching the quarter-finals at the Wimbledon Championship before losing to Vienna Open champion Jannik Sinner and finishing runner-up to Alexander Zverev at the Chengdu Open.
Do you think Novak Djokovic will be able to successfully finish the 2023 calendar year on the top spot? Or is he going to slip? Make sure to tell us in the comments section.
