Alcaraz Bridges Gap To Djokovic And Sinner In Olympics Race

ATP
Monday, 18 March 2024 at 23:30
alcaraz carlos iw24 imagopanoramic

Two weeks in tennis is long enough to make a difference, and that's what exactly happened in Indian Wells.

According to many naysayers, Carlos Alcaraz was seemingly struggling. Since becoming a Top 10 player, he had not endured a title drought quite like the eight-month famine between Wimbledon and Indian Wells.

Additionally, there were concerns that he would restrain himself from going full throttle after injuring his ankle in Rio last month. It did not surprise people that Alcaraz was not even the top favorite to win in Indian Wells despite being the defending champion.

But since striking the first ball on his return to California, Alcaraz played with a spring in his step. He has got his campaign back on track. Not only did he retain the title, but he scored three Top 10 wins, including a classic three-set comeback against the unbeatable Jannik Sinner in the semifinal.

Having lost control of the Olympics race during his barren spell, Alcaraz has now shown interest in regaining his No. 1 ranking. He trails Novak Djokovic (the leader) and second-placed Jannik Sinner by less than 2,000 points.

Daniil Medvedev has a cushion of over 1,000 points on fifth-placed Alexander Zverev, the defending gold medalist from Tokyo. Andrey Rublev is the other Russian player in the Top 10 of the Olympic race, although it is pertinent to note that he will compete as a neutral athlete.

Alex de Minaur, Hubert Hurkacz, and Grigor Dimitrov will be their countries' top-ranked players. Indian Wells semifinalist Tommy Paul is the top-ranked American in the race, ahead of Taylor Fritz and Ben Shelton.

China's Zhizhen Zhang is the only man assured of his place at the showpiece event in Paris after winning a gold medal at the Asian Games last year. While players like Rafael Nadal are seeking an exemption to compete at the event.

A total of 56 players will qualify based on their ranking of June 10th, 2024, which will be in line with the Olympics race final standings.

2024 Men's Race To Olympics as of March 18, 2024:

RankPlayerPoints
1Novak Djokovic7410
2Jannik Sinner7135
3Carlos Alcaraz6190
4Daniil Medvedev5495
5Alexander Zverev3945
6Andrey Rublev3470
7Hubert Hurkacz3110
8Alex de Minaur3040
9Grigor Dimitrov2525
10Tommy Paul2160
11Ben Shelton2090
12Taylor Fritz2045
13Ugo Humbert1990
14Holger Rune1940
15Alexander Bublik1880
16Adrian Mannarino1845
17Stefanos Tsitsipas1795
18Sebastian Baez1750
19Casper Ruud1535
20Tallon Griekspoor1350
21Sebastian Korda1340
22Frances Tiafoe1340
23Karen Khachanov1240
24Jiri Lehecka1220
25Jordan Thompson1065
26Felix Auger-Aliassime1055
27Nicolas Jarry1045
28Francisco Cerundolo1020
29Alejandro Davidovich Fokina1020
30Jack Draper981
31Gael Monfils975
32Roman Safiullin947
33Christopher Eubanks937
34Laslo Djere910
35Alejandro Tabilo890
36Cameron Norrie880
37Mariano Navone852
38Lorenzo Musetti845
39Arthur Fils807
40Fabian Marozsan792
41Marcos Giron790
42Alexei Popyrin781
43Nuno Borges771
44Alex Michelsen754
45Luciano Darderi751
46Daniel Evans745
47Miomir Kecmanovic725
48Tomas Machac724
49Matteo Arnaldi720
50Arthur Cazaux718
51Mackenzie McDonald715
52Sebastian Ofner700
53Zhizhen Zhang696
54Facundo Diaz Acosta692
55Alexander Shevchenko680
56Federico Coria677
57Emil Ruusuvuori670
58Flavio Cobolli665
59Rinky Hijikata646
60Jakub Mensik638
61Arthur Rinderknech633
62Constant Lestienne623
63Tomas Martin Etcheverry615
64Pavel Kotov614
65Taro Daniel599
66Hugo Gaston597
67Aslan Karatsev595
68Lorenzo Sonego585
69Maximilian Marterer584
70Aleksandar Kovacevic583
71Dusan Lajovic581
72Jaume Munar580
73Christopher O'Connell580
74Dominik Koepfer575
75Borna Coric574
76Jan-Lennard Struff570
77Thiago Seyboth Wild550
78Andy Murray550
79Brandon Nakashima545
80Stan Wawrinka545
81Luca Nardi537
82Pedro Martinez528
83Max Purcell525
84Aleksandar Vukic523
85Marton Fucsovics522
86Camilo Ugo Carabelli509
87Sumit Nagal498
88Michael Mmoh497
89Albert Ramos-Vinolas496
90JJ Wolf495
91Daniel Altmaier491
92Yannick Hanfmann490
93Yoshihito Nishioka488
94Alexandre Muller482
95James Duckworth481
96Corentin Moutet480
97Thiago Monteiro479
98Luca Van Assche473
99Pedro Cachin472
100Juncheng Shang472
Popular News
Just In