Spanish ace Carlos Alcaraz has celebrated a stellar 2022 so far with a record-setting climb to No.5 in the ATP Rankings, becoming the second-youngest player in the 21st century to surge into the top five.
The 19-year-old achieved the feat despite going down 6-4, 6-7(6), 6-4 to 20-year-old Italian Lorenzo Musetti in the final of the Hamburg European Open.
The Spaniard fought back from 5-3 down in the second set and saved five match points to take the final to a third set but the Italian claimed his first tour-level title in 2 hours, 47 minutes.
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Alcaraz was aiming to improve his 5-0 record in finals and was also chasing his fifth title this year alone after wins at the ATP Masters 1000 in Miami and Madrid and two ATP 500 crowns in Rio de Janeiro and Barcelona.
Even with the loss, the teenager managed to storm into fifth spot on the standings, such has been his form this season. The only player who has experienced such success at a younger age this century is Rafael Nadal.
If Alcaraz took the final in Hamburg he would have reached No.4, yet the youngster wasn’t delving into the negatives after falling to Musetti.
“It means a lot. The hard work that I put in every day for reaching my dreams, [No.] 1, and little by little I’m reaching my dream,” Alcaraz said. “Top five for me is pretty amazing and I will keep going to be one.”
It’s been a whirlwind 2022 for the up and comer, who joins Nadal and Novak Djokovic as the only three players this century to snare a position in the top five in their teens.
Nadal was 18 when he did it back in 2005, while Novak Djokovic was 19 when breaking into the top five in 2007.
Daniil Medvedev is still on top at No.1 ahead of Alexander Zverev and Nadal. Novak Djokovic is still in the top 10 but has fallen to seventh.
The Serbian star entered Wimbledon as No.3 in the world and falls another four places despite winning at the All England Club. It is only the second time he has been outside the top five since 2007.
Djokovic began the season as the clear No.1 but lost his top ranking after he was unable to defend his Australian Open due to his deportation. Perhaps the most telling blow to his slide came when Wimbledon’s decision to ban Russian and Belarusian players in light of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine was met with the removal of ranking points for the prestigious major by the ATP and the WTA.
Despite making it to the Wimbledon final, Nick Kyrgios is No.47 having been as low as 137 in February 2022.
As for Alcaraz, he’s tied with Nadal for most ATP Tour titles this year with four. He may take that to five this week as the top seed at the Croatia Open.
“Of course Umag (Croatia Open) is a special tournament for me. I got my first title there, so I’m defending the title this year,” Alcaraz said. “But I’m going to try to play my best and of course take lessons from here.”
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