Carlos Alcaraz admits World No 1 felt ‘really far away’ due to Jannik Sinner form

Carlos Alcaraz admitted World No 1 felt “really, really far away” at the start of the season due to rival Jannik Sinner’s form.

The Spaniard has claimed the year-end No 1 ranking for the second time in his career, and the first time since 2022, after beating Lorenzo Musetti at the ATP Finals to earn his third win of the week in Turin.

It secured No 1 ahead of Sinner, who was unable to regain the position unless Alcaraz lost at least one round-robin match at the year-end tournament.

Alcaraz, 22, could yet finish the best season of his career with a flourish and is on track to meet Sinner in the final of the ATP Finals after advancing to the final four.

Alcaraz won grand slam titles at Roland Garros and the US Open, and enjoyed a dominant run of form over the summer where he reached nine consecutive finals between April and September.

His eight titles are already the most he has won in a season, while his victory over Sinner in the Roland Garros final, saving three Championship point, was the most memorable match of the year.

Alcaraz became the youngest-ever year-end No 1 in 2022 after winning his first grand slam title at the US Open as a 19-year-old and has reclaimed the spot for a second time in a year where Sinner served a three-month ban.

“It means the world to me, to be honest,” Alcaraz said. “The year-end No 1 is always a goal. At the beginning of the year, I saw the No. 1 really, really far away [with] Jannik winning almost every tournament he plays.

But from the middle of the season until now, I [had] the goal for the No 1 because I thought it was there. I had the chance to play great tennis in a lot of tournaments in a row to put myself in with a chance to be close to Jannik.

“Then in the last three, four tournaments of the year, [I was] fighting toe to toe with Jannik for this spot and then finally I got it. For me, it means everything.”

Alcaraz regained the No 1 spot by beating Sinner in the US Open but, despite the Italian missing three months of the season after reaching a settlement in his doping case, his rival managed to stay in touch.

Sinner has extended his winning streak at indoor hard-court events to 28 matches, with titles in Vienna and Paris. The 24-year-old is looking to defend his ATP Finals title in Turin, with Alcaraz attempting to win the tournament for the first time.