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Spanish tennis star Carlos Alcaraz has said that he does not play with less pressure being the No. 2 or No. 3 player in the world stating that he is unbothered by the drop in rankings as everything feels the same for him.
Jannik Sinner of Italy replaced Alcaraz at the No. 2 spot in the ATP (Association of Tennis Professionals) rankings earlier this month. The Italian became the No. 2 player for the first time after winning the Miami Open. Sinner has been in scintillating form since late 2023 and won the Australian Open this year.
“Obviously, being number one or two is fantastic, but being second or third doesn't change much," Alcaraz told the media ahead of his participation at the Monte-Carlo Masters, which begins on April 7.
The Spaniard, who successfully defended his Indian Wells Masters title last month, said that he has to work hard to recover his position in the sport. But he said that a change in the rankings does not bring any additional pressure on him.
"I know that the tennis players ahead of me have those positions and I have to work to recover it, but I don't play with less pressure being two or three. I feel the same," Alcaraz said.
Interestingly, Carlos Alcaraz became the youngest player to attain the No. 1 rank in the history of ATP Rankings at the age of 19 years, four months and six days, on September 12, 2022, breaking the record held by Lleyton Hewitt of Australia, after he won US Open, his first Major title.
The Spaniard became the first teenager in the 'Open Era' to top the men's rankings. He was also the youngest US Open men's champion since Pete Sampras in 1990.
At 19 years and 214 days, Carlos Alcaraz ended 2022 as the youngest and the first teenager to top the year-end ATP Rankings. He, however, held the top ranking for just 20 weeks.
The Spaniard pulled out of the Australian Open in 2023 due to a hamstring injury. As a result, he lost the top ranking to Novak Djokovic, who won the Australian Open that year. He regained his No. 1 ranking after winning the Queen's Club Championship in 2023 and cemented it by capturing the Wimbledon title. Alcaraz, however, lost his top ranking to Djokovic yet again after the Serb won the US Open in 2023.
Carlos Alcaraz has to defend titles at Barcelona and Madrid
Carlos Alcaraz has a lot of points to defend during the clay court season that begins with the Monte-Carlo Masters. The Spaniard has to defend the titles he won at the Barcelona Open and Madrid Open, an ATP-1000 tournament, last year.
The clay court season would decide who would become the top ranked player before Wimbledon. There is a three-way race to the top with just about 1000 points separating the current No. 1 Djokovic, No. 2 ranked Sinner and No. 3 Alcaraz.
Like Alcaraz, the Serb also has a lot of points to defend in the clay season as he won the French Open last year. While Djokovic has to defend 2315 points, the Spaniard has to defend 2265 points.
