Carlos Alcaraz is already making history in so many ways. After winning the recent US Open, the 19-year-old became the youngest world number 1 in the ATP Rankings. However, that seems to be just one of the few records that Carlito appears to be able to break in his career. Alcaraz made history once again at least in Spanish tennis after becoming the Spaniard who has been at the top of the rankings for more weeks trailing only Rafael Nadal.
Curiously, after being 9 weeks as world number 1, Carlito managed to overtake his own coach Juan Carlos Ferrero who had been at the top of the rankings for 8 weeks. There is still a lot to do for Carlito if he wants to beat Nadal’s record of 209 weeks at the top. It’s worth noting that if Nadal wins the current ATP Finals, he will snatch the world number 1 rank from Alcaraz next Monday.
These are the Spanish players who managed to be at the top of the rankings sorted by weeks.
Rafael Nadal 209
Carlos Alcaraz 9
Juan Carlos Ferrero 8
Carlos Moya 2
Why Carlos Alcaraz will not play the ATP Finals
Unfortunately, Carlito will not be able to play in the ATP Finals in Turin. The Spanish sensation is struggling with an abdominal injury that occurred in Paris while playing in the local ATP000 event. His doctor gave him 6 weeks to recover. Alcaraz will also miss the Davis Cup and the newly-minted United Cup.
Carlos Alcaraz in 2022
WLWLLWLWWW Currently the world no.1, Alcaraz played his last match on the 4th of November when he had to retire when playing against world no.10 Holger Rune in the quarter and the scoreline was 6-3 6-6 .
During this season Carlos achieved a compiled 57-13 record. Alcaraz conquered 5 titles in 2022 in Rio de Janeiro, Miami, Barcelona, Madrid and U.S. Open. Alcaraz reached the final in Hamburg and in Umag.
Rafael Nadal in 2022
At the moment ranked no.2, the Spaniard played his last match on the 2nd of November when he capitulated to world no.29 Tommy Paul 3-6 7-6(4) 6-1 in the 2nd round in Paris (draw).
During this season Rafael has achieved a composed 38-6 record. The Spaniard has won 4 titles in 2022 in Melbourne, Australian Open, Acapulco and French Open. Nadal was the finalist in Indian Wells.
Carlos Alcaraz and Rafael Nadal faced off 3 times. Their current head to head is 2-1 for Nadal. The last time they squared off, Carlos Alcaraz won 6-2 1-6 6-3 in the quarter in Madrid (Mutua Madrid Open) on the 6th of May 2022.
You can see them in action in the following highlights.
