ATP rankings: Carlos Alcaraz set to return to No 1, Struff surges to career-high

It’s not official, but it will be as soon as Carlos Alcaraz takes the court for his second-round match at the Rome Masters. The Spaniard is set to make his third appearance at the top of the ATP rankings after Rome, and he could grow a significant lead over Novak Djokovic.

Find out how it is shaping up in today’s ATP rankings report…

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Alcaraz on top again

This week’s rankings show Alcaraz just five points behind Djokovic. That will change next week, however, as Djokovic is defending 1000 points at Rome. If the world No 1 doesn’t win the title, Alcaraz could significantly increase his lead at the top, due to the fact that he is defending zero points. So there is the potential for a 1000-point gain for Alcaraz and a 990-point drop (unlikely, but…) for Djokovic.

Note: players receiving a first-round bye earn first-round loser points if they lose in the second round.

Per the ATP: Alcaraz will return to World No. 1 by playing his first match in Rome. As defending champion, Djokovic can at best remain on 6,775 points, so Alcaraz has an opportunity to gain a healthy advantage with another big week in Italy.

Struffi’s huge jump

Germany’s Jan-Lennard Struff made history by becoming the first lucky loser to take his place in a Masters 1000 final last week in Madrid. On Monday the German makes a personal milestone as he rises 37 spots to a career-high ranking of No 28.

Struff is the No 2 German, just six spots behind No 22 Alexander Zverev.

Also rising from team Germany is Daniel Altmaier. Altmaier was also a lucky loser in Madrid, and reached the quarter-finals. He jumps 27 spots to No 65.

Karatsev the biggest riser

Nobody in the top 100 made a bigger jump than Russia’s Aslan Karatsev, however. The 29-year-old reached the semi-finals from qualifying at Madrid and rises a whopping 68 spots to No 53 in this week’s rankings.

Karatsev, who was defeated by Struff in the semi-finals at Madrid, is still 39 spots of his career-high ranking of 14.

Zhang makes it two top 70 players for China

For the first time in ATP history there are two Chinese men inside the Top 70. Zhang Zhizhen rises 30 spots in this week’s rankings thanks to his trip to the quarter-finals at Madrid, where he became the first Chinese man to ever reach a Masters 1000 quarter-final.

Murray, Humbert get the challenger pop

Andy Murray (Aix-en-Provence) and Ugo Humbert (Sardegna) each bagged challenger titles and tall jumps up the rankings this week.

Murray rises ten spots to No 42 – it’s his highest rank since he came in at No 39 on May 7, 2018!

Humbert jumps 27 spots to No 50.

Other notable movers inside the top 100

Other Notable Top 100 Movers
No. 9 Taylor Fritz, +1
No. 11 Karen Khachanov, +1
No. 35 Ben Shelton, +3 (Career High)
No. 38 Bernabe Zapata Miralles, +4 (Career High)
No. 49 Alexander Bublik, +6
No. 99 Matteo Arnaldi, +6 (Career High)

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