Novak Djokovic is number one in the world again after winning the Australian Open. In the final that decided the winner and new holder of first place, it was the Serbian who prevailed over Stefanos Tsitsipas, who remains firmly in third place in the world ranking.
The dethroned is Carlos Alcaraz, who thus falls to second position. If the first position holds firm, with an all-time record in the sights of the twenty-two-time Slam champion, the second and third positions could be reversed: Alcaraz could fall to the bottom of the podium, while Tsitsipas could achieve his best ranking, that is, become number two in the world.
A long-term challenge, taking into account that the Spaniard plays the tournament in Buenos Aires, while the Greek plays the one in Rotterdam. For there to be compensation, two results are needed: Stefanos Tsitsipas must win the Rotterdam Open, an indoor 500m tournament; Carlos Alcaraz, for his part, should not succeed on clay in the Argentina Open, a 250 category tournament.
Seeded in their respective tournaments, the two play more than just the tournament. In his debut on indoor concrete in the Netherlands, Stefanos Tsitsipas will face Emil Ruusuvuori, world number 52. In case of passing the first round, the Athenian tennis player could face Jannik Sinner again, after his confrontation in Melbourne Park, if the latter emerges victorious from his clash with the Frenchman Bonzi.
For Carlos Alcaraz, on the other hand, the first round is already history, having received a bye. Laslo Djere awaits him in the second round, the winner against Fabio Fognini in his debut at the Argentina Open. Like almost the entire squad, the Argentine team also sounds like it is charging: in its case, Diego Schwartman is on the way, who as the fourth seed also benefited from a bye.
Amritraj opens in Alcaraz
Former tennis player Prakash Amritraj stated that he is excited to see Carlos Alcaraz back in action. «The guy looks in exceptional shape and it looks like he’s not coming back unless he’s 100%.
His game is the type of game that is really physical, so he knows that he can put himself on the path to injury if he is not at 100%,» he said. “So I love seeing him back. He has been spending a lot of time with the children. Signing a bunch of autographs and look, it’s a great thing to have him back,» she added.
