Carlos Alcaraz eats into Jannik Sinner’s world No 1 rankings lead after latest win

Kevin Palmer 15 Aug 2025 11:27 PM

Carlos Alcaraz in Cincinnati

Carlos Alcaraz suffered a late scare as he fended off a battling Andrey Rublev to reach the Cincinnati Open semi-finals, with this latest win allowing him to gain some ground on world No 1 Jannik Sinner.

Sinner is the defending champion in Cincinnati and also at the US Open, which gets underway in New York later this month.

That means he is defending 2,500 ranking points over these two defend and if he fails to win both tournaments, his rankings total will take a hit.

By contrast, Alcaraz is defending just 60 points from disappointing early exits in Cincinnati and at last year’s US Open, so he has a big chance to gain ground on Sinner over the next few weeks.

He has made a good start to that mission, with his 6-3, 4-6, 7-5 win over Rublev allowing him to reach his 12th ATP Masters 1000 semi-final.

More Tennis News

Carlos Alcaraz set to crash through prize money barrier quicker than any player in tennis history

Legendary coach breaks down how Carlos Alcaraz & Jannik Sinner are ‘changing the game’

It means Alcaraz has already added 400 ranking points to his tally this week and he will put another 600 onto that again if he wins the title in Cincinnati.

He is currently more than 2,000 ranking points behind Sinner and has stated his desire to try and close that gap and finish the year as No 1.

Alcaraz fended off an impressive display from Rublev to get the win, with the Russian turning on the style in the second set as he blew his rival away.

He also broke back at 5-3 when Alcaraz was serving for the set, but the Spaniard then broke again as Rublev hit two double faults in the final game of the match, including one on the last point.

“I maintained positive thoughts all the time, even though I lost focus a few times during the second set,” said Alcaraz.

“Playing someone like Andrey, when you lose focus on two or three points, it [can] cost you the set or almost the match. I just stayed strong mentally and that’s what I’m most proud of.

“It’s just [about] accepting the moment, accepting that I am playing a third set, accepting that it’s going to be a really tough battle, and I love that.

“It was extreme conditions, but I just love playing in front of this energy. I am just really happy to live these kinds of experiences, so I just remind myself of that in these moments.”

Alcaraz produced some magical tennis to reach the finishing line against Rublev, with his explosive forehand and incredible movement digging him out of trouble time and again.

Yet there were lapses in concentration from the 22-year-old, who was rocked onto the ropes on several occasions by Rublev.

Alcaraz will need to raise his levels if he faces Sinner in the Cincinnati final on Monday, but this champion has more gears to go through.