The year of Carlos Alcaraz: With more titles and points, world No. 1 scales new high in 2023 as Cincinnati run continues

After reaching the highs in US Open last year with a maiden Grand Slam title win, which also saw him rise to the world No. 1 spot, injuries in the final phase of the calendar year bogged Carlos Alcaraz down before he withdrew from the remainder of the season, even missing ATP Finals and the Davis Cup Finals. The injury concern stretched into the 2023 season as he pulled out of the Australian Open as well, and later lost his ATP ranking crown to the champion in Melbourne, Novak Djokovic. It was only in late February when the Spaniard announced his return and made his intentions clear straightway with a title win in Argentina. And although, injuries did remain a concern through the first half of the season, Alcaraz never looked back, this scripting a new high in 2023 as he continued his stellar run in Cincinnati Masters this week.

The real challenge for a sportsperson is when the player looks to hold up to the benchmark he set for himself or push it even higher. That is what separates a champion from the rest of the crowd. The ATP tour field, over the last few years, have seen a couple of promising seasons from players touted to overtake the Big Three. There was Dominic Thiem, Stefanos Tsitsipas, Daniil Medvedev, and then came Alcaraz, who had a breakthrough year in 2022.

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Although injuries saw an early end to his season, the then 19-year-old had managed to script 57 wins (second highest) in 2022 with just three straight-set defeats of the 13 losses he incurred. He lifted five titles (joint-most alongside Djokovic), which included two Masters 1000, two ATP 500 and one Major, in seven finals (four other players had achieved the same) he reached and en route made a jump from world No. 32, at the start of the year, to becoming the youngest ever and first teenager to end the year as world No. 1. In all, he grabbed 6820 points across the season, 820 more than second-placed Rafael Nadal, who had won two Slams.

Even though he made a delayed start to 2023, Alcaraz kicked off from where he left last season. After the title in Buenos Aires, Alcaraz reached his second successive final in Rio. He later pulled out of Acapulco, but lifted his eighth career title and third Masters 1000 after beating Medvedev in Indian Wells final. Alcaraz subsequently reclaimed his world No. 1 ranking, but lost it a week later after Jannik Sinner ended his run in Miami Open semis where he was the defending champion.

Alcaraz then began a stellar run on clay with titles on Barcelona and Madrid before incurring a shock second-round exit in Rome and then later lost to Djokovic in a French Open semi-final clash where he had suffered from cramps. The Spaniard's most telling run however came on the most unlikely surface as Alcaraz did not just win his maiden grass court title in 2023 with a trophy at Queen's but avenged his loss to Djokovic in Wimbledon final a fortnight later to rise to the top ranking spot yet again.

On Saturday, Alcaraz moved a step closer to his seventh title of the year as he made the semis in Cincinnati Masters after a overcoming a scare against Max Purcell. The victory improved his win-loss record to 52-5 in 2023 with an overall point of 7215 points since February, as he remains the only player to have qualified for the ATP Finals in Turin. The tally includes 360 points he gained from his semifinal run in Ohio. The quarterfinal win also added to Alcaraz's stellar 2023 run where he at least reached the semifinals in 10 of the 12 tournaments he played in.

Djokovic remains his main threat

Despite an improved show in 2023, Alcaraz has his focus on a maiden title win in Cincinnati, which would seen him leave with 7855 points and guarantee himself as top seed for his title-defense campaign in US Open. But the Serbian threat looms large with Djokovic having made the semis as well on Saturday, with the two standing a win away from meeting for the third time this season. The 36-year-old, who claimed Slam victories in Australian Open and Roland Garros, has 6125 points in the race to Turin this year.