How Carlos Alcaraz can dethrone Novak Djokovic as World No. 1 ahead of Wimbledon

The men's tennis World No. 1 spot has been swinging back and forth between Carlos Alcaraz and Novak Djokovic throughout the year. The two players could switch places once again in the upcoming weeks.

Alcaraz lost the World No. 1 ranking after falling to eventual champion Djokovic in the French Open semifinal. However, the Spaniard has the chance to once again reclaim the top spot in the ATP ranking if he wins his next tournament, the Queen's Club Championships.

Winning the event in London would award Alcaraz 500 points, helping him close the current 420-point difference between him and Djokovic in the ATP rankings. Djokovic currently holds 7595 points, while Alcaraz has 7175.

The Queen's Club Championships will take place from June 19 to 25, with Carlos Alcaraz, Holger Rune (World No. 6), Taylor Fritz (World No. 8), and Frances Tiafoe (World No. 12) entering as the top four seeds.

Meanwhile, Djokovic is yet to confirm if he will play any grass court tournaments ahead of his title defense at the 2023 Wimbledon Championships. It is worth noting that players will not be defending any points at Wimbledon this year, given that no points were awarded at last year's tournament due to the ban on Russian and Belarusian players amidst the ongoing war in Ukraine.

Interestingly, Djokovic has not played any grass court tournaments leading up to the Wimbledon Championships in the last five years and has still managed to lift the Major title in London every year since 2018, barring 2020 when the tournament was canceled due to the Covid pandemic. Overall, the Serb has won seven Wimbledon Championships.

A look into Carlos Alcaraz's record on the grass

Carlos Alcaraz at the 2022 Wimbledon Championship

Carlos Alcaraz has so far proven his mettle on clay and hard courts, winning the 2022 US Open and four Masters 1000 titles. However, the 20-year-old has had limited success on grass courts so far.

Alcaraz has a 4-2 win-loss record on the grass, playing all his matches on the surface at the Wimbledon Championships. In 2022, he was seeded No. 5 in London and lost in the fourth round to Jannik Sinner, 6-1, 6-4, 6-7 (8), 6-3. In 2021, Alcaraz entered the Wimbledon main draw via a wildcard and lost to No. 2 seed Daniil Medvedev in the second round.

The Spaniard has admitted to having difficulties playing on grass, highlighting issues with movement on the surface and comparing a grass court match to a marathon.

“Grass is tough for me because the movement is tough, more difficult than other surfaces. I would say to play four hours on grass is tougher than the other surfaces, even if there are not long rallies. So for me it’s tougher to play a marathon match on grass,” he said in a 2022 interview with Tennishead.

Getting some game time on the grass at the Queen's Club Championship ahead of the Grand Slam will certainly help Carlos Alcaraz get more accustomed to the surface and only time will tell how far the youngster can go at this year's tournament at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club.