Carlos Alcaraz, even in defeat, continues to set records.
Alas, the one he has just matched after yesterday’s Monte Carlo Masters final is not one he will have been striving for.
That is, despite it bringing him alongside Serena Williams, arguably one of the greatest tennis players of all time.
Jannik Sinner was good value for his title in Monaco last week, scything through the draw before dealing with the adverse weather conditions in the final better than his opponent.
Should Carlos Alcaraz hire another coach after his recent results?
If so, who should he hire? 🤔
However, whilst losing his crown will have cut deep, the fact that Alcaraz was also overtaken as the world number one will have likely stung more.
Carlos Alcaraz matches Serena Williams despite Monte Carlo final defeat
And yet, it is this drop from world number one to second in the world that has seen Carlos Alcaraz join Williams in a rare spot.
He is now the first man, and only the second player ever, to be the world number two despite holding three of the four Grand Slam titles.
How would you rate that Monte Carlo final out of 10?
In 2025, the Spaniard won Roland Garros and the US Open, but lost in the Wimbledon final to Sinner.
Then, to start the new year, he completed the career Grand Slam by claiming the Australian Open title.
And yet, given the fact that his great rival was forced to miss three months of the 2025 season, and thus now has no points to defend, it seems like Alcaraz’s title-winning effort across the last 12 months has all been fruitless in his pursuit of the world number one moniker.
When can Carlos Alcaraz regain the world number one spot from Jannik Sinner?
Fortunately for Alcaraz, his spell as world number two could be short-lived.
He has the perfect opportunity to reascend to the top of the world rankings almost instantly in Barcelona, should he go one step further from his loss in last year’s final.
Winning that event would see him retake a supremely slender lead over the Italian, which would then put them on relatively even footing ahead of the Madrid Open.
Neither played in that event in 2025, and both reached the final of the Italian Open and Roland Garros.
There is so much at stake over the coming months, and Alcaraz needs to go deep in Barcelona if he is to keep the pressure on for that top spot.
