Sinner, it’s already time for the South Tyrolean champion to think about the next step: the hunt is on, watch out for Indian Wells.
It all happened so fast that we still have to get used to the idea that Jannik Sinner is third in the Atp ranking, let alone that we can already think about the moment when he will conquer the second step of the podium. There is no time to waste, though, it seems.
Wrong was anyone who thought it would be a while before the San Candido native landed among the top three players in the world. Not only has he overtaken Daniil Medvedev, also complicit in the Russian’s double withdrawal from the two recent events he was supposed to attend, but now he even has a chance to undermine someone close to his heart. We refer to Carlos Alcaraz, of course, grappling with a less than happy moment and forced as of now to come to terms with the fact that his blue rival is breathing down his neck.
We may not have to wait long, we said, to see Jannik one step closer to the top of tennis Olympus. The Indian Wells Masters 1000 could upset all the balances and pave the way, fingers crossed, for the king of Melbourne, who 20 days after his triumph in the land of kangaroos raised another cup to the sky, namely the one in Rotterdam. But let’s find out, now, what circumstances could theoretically favor Sinner’s rise to the second spot in the world rankings.
Sinner, the fox sharpens his nose: not unlikely to happen
Let’s start by saying that Alcaraz, on the eve of the California desert rendezvous, occupies second place with 8805, while Sinner is stable in third with a haul of 8270. The substantial difference between the two, however, lies in the points they defend at Tennis Paradise.
The Iberian won the 2023 edition by beating Medvedev in 2 sets, reasoning that he is called upon, this year, to defend a beauty of 1,000 points. The fox from San Candido stopped in the semifinals and of points, instead, he put only 360 in his pocket. Should Alcaraz, therefore, stop well before the final stages, Jannik could concretely dream of overtaking him.
Basically, calculations in hand, it will be enough for him to get the same result as the Spaniard in order to be assured of becoming, at the end of the tournament, the new number 2 in the world. Carlitos, for his part, has only one way to prevent this from happening: to do better than Sinner, which we know is quite difficult these days. May it already be time to rejoice one more time?