Carlos Alcaraz will reclaim the No. 1 ranking in the world following a 6-4, 6-1 victory over Albert Ramos-Vinolas on Saturday in his first match at the Italian Open.
Alcaraz will overtake Novak Djokovic at the top of the world ladder in their next update on May 22. He will therefore be the favorite for the French Open, which will start on May 28.
The 20-year-old Spaniard double-faulted to give Ramos-Vinolas a break in service in the first game of the game. However, Alcaraz quickly turned things around and scored a nice drop shot to set the stage for the break of serve that made the difference late in the first set.
Alcaraz produced nearly three times as many shot winners as Ramos-Vinolas, 28-11, despite slow conditions due to rain at Foro Italico.
Having triumphed in Barcelona and Madrid, Alcaraz have now won their last 12 matches. He is 20-1 on clay in 2023.
In other second-round matches, sixth-seeded Andrey Rublev beat Alex Molcan 6-3, 6-4, JJ Wolf knocked out No.14 Hubert Hurkacz winning 6-3, 6-4 , and Borna Coric defeated Thiago Monteiro 4-6, 7-6 (8), 7-6 (5).
In the next round, Alcaraz will face Jiri Lehecka or Fabian Marozsan.
Djokovic, who is in the other half of the table, won his first game on Friday.
The ladies started the third round on Saturday. Qualifier Camila Osorio surprised fifth-seeded Caroline Garcia by beating her 6-4, 6-4. Americans Sofia Kenin and Taylor Townsend were also eliminated.
The start of the first matches was delayed by almost two hours and play was briefly interrupted during the first leg of the duel between Rublev and Molcan. The sky opened up as Rublev finished off his rival, then the canvas was set up over the clay.
“I can rest and I can rest tomorrow. I won’t have to live the stress of waiting, said Rublev, winner at the Monte Carlo tournament last month. I was lucky to finish the match just before the rain knowing that most of the players haven’t had a chance to play yet. »