What does Carlos Alcaraz need to take the world’s No. 2 spot back from Jannik Sinner?

After two great weeks of tennis at Indian Wells, Carlos Alcaraz couldn’t maintain the level of tennis he expected in the faster courts of Miami, being defeated by Grigor Dimitrov in the quarterfinals.

The 20-year-old player was looking for the 14th ATP title and the first Sunshine Double of his career in the second Masters 1000 tournament of the calendar but the Bulgarian player proved to be too much of a challenge for the Murcia native.

Alcaraz’s objective also was to shorten distances with the world No. 1, Novak Djokovic. Nole didn’t compete in Miami after a disappointing performance in Indian Wells, where he was eliminated by Luca Nardi in three sets.

With the 24-time major champion’s absence in the tournament, Alcaraz had the chance of getting closer to him in the rankings but he couldn’t repeat his success in 2022, when he became the event’s champion by defeating Casper Ruud in the final.

What Alcaraz needs to take back the world’s No. 2 spot

With Jannik Sinner winning the Miami Open, the ATP calendar flies to Europe, where the clay season has just begun.

It’s the first time that Carlitos is outside the two first spots in the rankings since September 2022 after being overtaken by Jannik Sinner.

However, the two-time Grand Slam event champion will have the chance of getting that second spot back from the Italian star, who is ahead by 65 points.

Sinner will defend 360 points at the Montecarlo Masters after getting to the semifinals in 2023. That means that Alcaraz will overtake Jannik if he gets to that round, as he didn’t compete in the event last year due to an injury on his left hand.

Alcaraz has lost three games this year and had to withdraw in his debut in the Rio Open after getting injured. Sinner has only tasted defeat once in 25 matches in 2024, and it was against the Spaniard in the Indian Wells semifinals.