Murcia (EFE).- Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz Garfia, number 1 in the world, is close to achieving the feat of finishing the year at the top of the ATP ranking after the withdrawal of the Italian Jannik Sinner, his great and only rival in that race, in the Shanghai Masters 1,000.

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The Murcian would only need to be a finalist in Paris-Bercy to achieve that goal, and that’s if the Italian wins the three tournaments on the circuit that remain.

Alcaraz conquered the ATP 500 of Tokyo

The young Spanish tennis player, 22, who won the ATP 500 in Tokyo last Monday, declined to play in the Chinese tournament to rest after suffering a sprain in his left ankle, while the Italian, 24, did attend to try to retain the title he won in 2024. Sinner, who was champion on Tuesday at the ATP 500 in Beijing, was looking for another trophy and defending 1,000 points in Shanghai, but his premature elimination in the second round will prevent him and, in fact, he only retained 50. The one from San Cándido fell by 7-6 (3), 5-7, 2-3 and retired due to cramps against the Dutchman Tallon Griekspoor. This means that Sinner will stay with a fair 10,000 points in the ATP ranking, compared to Alcaraz’s 11,340, who lost 200 points due to his absence in China, where he was a quarter-finalist last season.

Alcaraz defends 300 points

From now on, the Spaniard will defend 300 points —100 at the Paris-Bercy Masters 1,000 and 200 at the Nitto ATP Finals in Turin— while Sinner will expose the 1,500 he earned in 2024, closing successfully near his home. In addition, the Italian, who will also be in the French capital, announced that he will play the ATP 500 in Vienna, in which he could add half a thousand points to his account. With a calculator in hand and assuming Sinner wins everything, Alcaraz would only need to reach the final in Paris to secure the number 1 at the end of the year. It would also be enough for him to be a semifinalist, as long as he wins one of his three group stage matches at the ATP Finals. Juan Carlos Ferrero and Samuel López’s protégé would secure the 11,690 points with the final in the French capital, while in the second of those cases he would reach, at a minimum, 11,640 and the potential ceiling of the current number 2 is 11,500 at the end of this 2025.