Carlos Alcaraz, Alexander Zverev sent warning in Jannik Sinner world No 1 battle
Carlos Alcaraz and Alexander Zverev have been told they will have to “change gears” if they want to take the world No 1 ranking away from Jannik Sinner.
Three-time Grand Slam champion Sinner is currently suspended for three months after settling his doping case with the World Anti-Doping Agency – and will not return until the Italian Open in May.
His absence has undoubtedly opened the door for both Zverev and Alcaraz, ranked world No 2 and No 3, respectively, to potentially rise to the top of the rankings.
World No 2 Zverev has never held the ATP’s top ranking, while Alcaraz has previously been the world No 1 for 36 weeks.
While there will likely be more opportunities for both men to gain ground on Sinner, Zverev and Alcaraz have so far faced mixed fortunes since the Italian’s suspension.
Zverev has particularly struggled to make his mark, falling in the last eight of the Argentina Open and Rio Open before a second-round exit in Acapulco.
Meanwhile, Alcaraz won the Rotterdam Open just before Sinner’s suspension was announced but was then beaten at the quarter-final stage of the Qatar Open.
Indian Wells could prove key for both men, particularly Alcaraz – who is defending 1,000 ranking points after winning the title twelve months ago.
Speaking on SuperTenis, former world No 33 Paolo Lorenzi claimed that the two men did not have the “necessary consistency” to rise to world No 1 – and will need to improve dramatically to do so.
He said: “They can’t have the necessary consistency during the season; there are periods when they struggle a lot. If you exclude Sinner, all the other players have a very similar level.
“When they don’t play their best tennis, they struggle a lot to win matches. Alcaraz has some really amazing peaks, but he has very little regularity and struggles to take advantage of Jannik’s absence.
“Zverev had gone to South America to score points, but his results were very disappointing. They have to change gears if they want to try to overtake Sinner.”
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All eyes will be on how Zverev and Alcaraz fare in Indian Wells this fortnight, with action now underway in the desert.
World No 3 Alcaraz has won the title the past two years, beating Daniil Medvedev in both the 2023 and 2024 finals.
The Spaniard would become just the third man in tournament history to seal three straight titles, should he prevail, following in the footsteps of Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer.
Alcaraz will face Quentin Halys or Pablo Carreno Busta in round two and could go on to face sixth seed Novak Djokovic in the last eight.
Meanwhile, top seed Zverev is defending quarter-final points following his last-eight exit to Alcaraz twelve months ago.
Indian Wells has not always been a happy hunting ground for the German, who has made the quarter-final just twice in eight appearances.
The world No 2 will begin his campaign against either Miomir Kecmanovic or Tallon Griekspoor.
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