Alcaraz & Rune Still Only Two Men To Defend Title In 2023 Can Someone Join Them?
ATP
The 2023 ATP season has been another record-setting year for the history books, but for the most part, it has not followed the script.
Grand Slam tournaments have been the safest bets with the usual suspects lifting the trophies. But outside tennis' coveted four tournaments, we've seen new names take to the winner's podium on the final Sunday.
In that case, as the 2023 ATP season enters its climactic phase, perhaps it is astounding to note that there have been just three successful title defenses this year, with two players accounting for them. These are Carlos Alcaraz and Holger Rune.
The 20-year-old Alcaraz retained the crowns on home soil in Barcelona and Madrid. In fact, his straight-sets victory over Tsitsipas in the Barcelona Open final was the first title defense of his career. Alcaraz went on to complete the Spanish double by ending the fairytale run of German lucky loser Jan-Lennard Struff in the Madrid Masters final.
Holger Rune, meanwhile, snatched victory from the jaws of defeat in the BMW Open in Munich. The young Dane saved four match points in the final against Botic van de Zandschulp to retain the title during the clay swing. Munich is a special event for Rune who captured his first Tour-level title there 12 months ago.
The four Grand Slams were not defended. Rafael Nadal's Australian Open reign ended on a whimper as he fell to a second-round exit, and Novak Djokovic won his 10th crown at Melbourne Park. Djokovic also replaced his Spanish rival as the new King of Roland Garros this year, with Nadal withdrawing from the event to undergo surgery.
Djokovic, however, could not prevent Alcaraz from ending his five-year undefeated streak in the Wimbledon final. And the roles interchanged again at the US Open, this time Alcaraz missing on the chance to fight for his title after losing to Daniil Medvedev in the semifinal.
With just nine tournaments remaining including the ATP Finals, who will join Alcaraz and Rune? At this stage, it is safe to say that Djokovic looks like the most likely candidate. The Serbian has missed two of his title defenses (Astana and Tel Aviv) due to scheduling changes.
But Djokovic still has one more title defense coming up in Turin where he can win a record-breaking seventh ATP Finals. Taylor Fritz features in the entry list in Tokyo where he will be aiming to win his second title at the Japan Open, while Daniil Medvedev is also another player who is a favorite to defend a title in Vienna. Given how unpredictable this season has been, no one is counting eggs with certainty.
