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:
| Rank | Player | Points |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Novak Djokovic | 7410 |
| 2 | Jannik Sinner | 7135 |
| 3 | Carlos Alcaraz | 6190 |
| 4 | Daniil Medvedev | 5495 |
| 5 | Alexander Zverev | 3945 |
| 6 | Andrey Rublev | 3470 |
| 7 | Hubert Hurkacz | 3110 |
| 8 | Alex de Minaur | 3040 |
| 9 | Grigor Dimitrov | 2525 |
| 10 | Tommy Paul | 2160 |
| 11 | Ben Shelton | 2090 |
| 12 | Taylor Fritz | 2045 |
| 13 | Ugo Humbert | 1990 |
| 14 | Holger Rune | 1940 |
| 15 | Alexander Bublik | 1880 |
| 16 | Adrian Mannarino | 1845 |
| 17 | Stefanos Tsitsipas | 1795 |
| 18 | Sebastian Baez | 1750 |
| 19 | Casper Ruud | 1535 |
| 20 | Tallon Griekspoor | 1350 |
| 21 | Sebastian Korda | 1340 |
| 22 | Frances Tiafoe | 1340 |
| 23 | Karen Khachanov | 1240 |
| 24 | Jiri Lehecka | 1220 |
| 25 | Jordan Thompson | 1065 |
| 26 | Felix Auger-Aliassime | 1055 |
| 27 | Nicolas Jarry | 1045 |
| 28 | Francisco Cerundolo | 1020 |
| 29 | Alejandro Davidovich Fokina | 1020 |
| 30 | Jack Draper | 981 |
| 31 | Gael Monfils | 975 |
| 32 | Roman Safiullin | 947 |
| 33 | Christopher Eubanks | 937 |
| 34 | Laslo Djere | 910 |
| 35 | Alejandro Tabilo | 890 |
| 36 | Cameron Norrie | 880 |
| 37 | Mariano Navone | 852 |
| 38 | Lorenzo Musetti | 845 |
| 39 | Arthur Fils | 807 |
| 40 | Fabian Marozsan | 792 |
| 41 | Marcos Giron | 790 |
| 42 | Alexei Popyrin | 781 |
| 43 | Nuno Borges | 771 |
| 44 | Alex Michelsen | 754 |
| 45 | Luciano Darderi | 751 |
| 46 | Daniel Evans | 745 |
| 47 | Miomir Kecmanovic | 725 |
| 48 | Tomas Machac | 724 |
| 49 | Matteo Arnaldi | 720 |
| 50 | Arthur Cazaux | 718 |
| 51 | Mackenzie McDonald | 715 |
| 52 | Sebastian Ofner | 700 |
| 53 | Zhizhen Zhang | 696 |
| 54 | Facundo Diaz Acosta | 692 |
| 55 | Alexander Shevchenko | 680 |
| 56 | Federico Coria | 677 |
| 57 | Emil Ruusuvuori | 670 |
| 58 | Flavio Cobolli | 665 |
| 59 | Rinky Hijikata | 646 |
| 60 | Jakub Mensik | 638 |
| 61 | Arthur Rinderknech | 633 |
| 62 | Constant Lestienne | 623 |
| 63 | Tomas Martin Etcheverry | 615 |
| 64 | Pavel Kotov | 614 |
| 65 | Taro Daniel | 599 |
| 66 | Hugo Gaston | 597 |
| 67 | Aslan Karatsev | 595 |
| 68 | Lorenzo Sonego | 585 |
| 69 | Maximilian Marterer | 584 |
| 70 | Aleksandar Kovacevic | 583 |
| 71 | Dusan Lajovic | 581 |
| 72 | Jaume Munar | 580 |
| 73 | Christopher O'Connell | 580 |
| 74 | Dominik Koepfer | 575 |
| 75 | Borna Coric | 574 |
| 76 | Jan-Lennard Struff | 570 |
| 77 | Thiago Seyboth Wild | 550 |
| 78 | Andy Murray | 550 |
| 79 | Brandon Nakashima | 545 |
| 80 | Stan Wawrinka | 545 |
| 81 | Luca Nardi | 537 |
| 82 | Pedro Martinez | 528 |
| 83 | Max Purcell | 525 |
| 84 | Aleksandar Vukic | 523 |
| 85 | Marton Fucsovics | 522 |
| 86 | Camilo Ugo Carabelli | 509 |
| 87 | Sumit Nagal | 498 |
| 88 | Michael Mmoh | 497 |
| 89 | Albert Ramos-Vinolas | 496 |
| 90 | JJ Wolf | 495 |
| 91 | Daniel Altmaier | 491 |
| 92 | Yannick Hanfmann | 490 |
| 93 | Yoshihito Nishioka | 488 |
| 94 | Alexandre Muller | 482 |
| 95 | James Duckworth | 481 |
| 96 | Corentin Moutet | 480 |
| 97 | Thiago Monteiro | 479 |
| 98 | Luca Van Assche | 473 |
| 99 | Pedro Cachin | 472 |
| 100 | Juncheng Shang | 472 |
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