Alcaraz and Nadal to match rare achievement from 2000 as they meet on top of ATP Rankings

| by Alfredo Bassanelli

Casper Ruud was defending his last year's points from San Diego triumph at the 2022 Korea Open in Seoul, but the Norwegian wasn't successful and granted Carlos Alcaraz and Rafael Nadal 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 number 1 in the history of men's tennis.

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"Let's get a big match in Spain" - Kyrgios suggests exhibition match to Alcaraz

Casper Ruud, who joined the Spanish duo just yesterday as the third player to qualify for the 2022 ATP Finals, lost to Yoshihito Nishioka in the quarterfinals of the 2022 Korea Open in Seoul and therefore, he will also lose his 2nd place in the ATP Rankings. The Norwegian will drop to the third place and Rafael Nadal will move up to the second.

Therefore, for the first time in the history of the ATP Rankings, first two places will be held by Spanish players. Moreover, it will be for the first time since 2000 that two players from the same country will be on top of the ATP Rankings, when Andre Agassi and Pete Sampras from the United States were the last two players to complete this rare achievement.

Alcaraz and Nadal also have a big chance to finish the year as world number 1 and 2. Currently, the 19-years-old Spaniard leads the ATP Race with 6460 points, while his more experienced colleague is second with 5810.

The closest competitor is Ruud, who has 4930 points and so the Norwegian would need to earn almost 1000 points more than the 22-time Grand Slam champion in the remainder of the season to take the second place away from him.

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