Alcaraz and Nadal to match rare achievement from 2000 as they meet on top of ATP Rankings
ATP
Casper Ruud was defending his last year's points from the San Diego Open triumph at the 2022 Korea Open in Seoul, but the Norwegian wasn't successful and granted Carlos Alcaraz and Rafael Nadal the top two spots in the ATP Rankings.
Carlos Alcaraz and Rafael Nadal are, without a doubt, having a very good season. While the more experienced Spaniard started with two Grand Slam triumphs and enlarged his collection to already 22 major titles, the younger player lifted his first Grand Slam title at the 2022 US Open and also became the youngest World No. 1 in the history of men's tennis.
Ruud, who joined the Spanish duo as the third player to qualify for the 2022 ATP Finals, lost to Yoshihito Nishioka in the quarter-finals of the 2022 Korea Open in Seoul.
Therefore, he will also lose his second place in the ATP Rankings. The Norwegian will drop to the third place and Nadal will move up to the second.
Therefore, for the first time in the history of the ATP Rankings, the first two places will be held by Spanish players. Moreover, it will be the first time since 2000 that two players from the same country will be on top of the ATP Rankings.
Back then, Andre Agassi and Pete Sampras from the United States topped the standings, and until now, they were the last two players to complete this feat.
Alcaraz and Nadal also have a big chance to finish the year as the World No. 1 and No. 2 players. Currently, the 19-year-old Spaniard leads the ATP Race with 6,460 points, while his more experienced colleague is second with 5,810.
The closest competitor is Ruud, who has 4,930 points, so the Norwegian would need to earn almost 1,000 more points than the 22-time Grand Slam champion in the remainder of the season to take the second place away from him.
