The final ranking does justice to what has been seen during the season. Two names have stood out above the rest and two names, both Spanish, are at the top of the latest ATP ranking: Carlos Alcaraz, as number one, and Rafa Nadal, after him. In addition, they do it in a historical way. For the first time in 26 years, two players from the same country lead the table at the end of the course. It has not been seen since the Americans Pete Sampras and Michael Chang achieved it in 1996. The icing on the cake for a brilliant campaign for the ‘Armada’, which has stood out on the circuit beyond its two great banners. In five of the eight Masters 1,000, there has been a Spanish finalist (Alcaraz won in Miami and Madrid; Pablo Carreño, in Montreal; Nadal and Alejandro Davidovich, for their part, lost in the Indian Wells and Monte Carlo finals, respectively). In three of the four Grand Slams, the champion has also been national, with the Murcian triumphing at the US Open and Nadal, at the Australian Open and Roland Garros.
The complete agenda of Rafa Nadal and Casper Ruud in Quito
Alcaraz, after Nadal’s fall in the group stage of the ATP Finals, made sure to end the year as the youngest number one in history; The Spaniard, however, had to wait until the last moment to see his second place certified. Casper Ruud, defeated in the Turin final by Novak Djokovic, would have been behind Alcaraz if he had triumphed. It didn’t happen and the Norwegian, who started the season in 8th place, ends up in 3rd position. Behind him, a Stefanos Tsitsipas who, had he achieved the Masters Cup undefeated, would have climbed to the top. The Greek, who closes the year in the same place where he started it, is ahead of a rising Djokovic, who arrived in Italy as 8th. After winning his sixth Finals undefeated (1,500 credits as booty), the Serbian climbs to the fifth step, far from the throne where he started the season, but in the middle of a comeback operation after seeing his ranking drop in the strangest course of his career.
Rafael Nadal ‘wants to be’ in Quito
Félix Auger-Aliassime (6th), Daniil Medvedev (7th), Andrey Rublev (8th), Taylor Fritz (9th) and Hubert Hurkacz (10th) close a top 10 that leaves Holger Rune (11th), Alexander Zverev (12th) or Pablo Carreño (13th), the Spanish best placed after Alcaraz and Nadal, at its doors. Auger, after an excellent season finale, in which he has won three of his four career titles (all in 2022), is in his best position so far, ready to face an exciting 2023. Medvedev’s situation, after him, is on the other side of the scale. The Russian, unable to add victories in Turin, falls to his worst ranking since 2019. Regarding the list of Spanish representatives in the highest elite, Roberto Bautista (21st), Alejandro Davidovich (31st) and Albert Ramos (39th) close the season within the top-50. Jaume Munar (57th), Pedro Martínez (62nd), Bernabé Zapata (74th) and Roberto Carballés (76th), for their part, leave the number of Spanish players in the squad at ten. top 100.
Neither Alcaraz (injured with an abdominal tear suffered at the beginning of November) nor Nadal will be in the final phase of the Davis Cup, which closes the 2022 season.
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Source: Eluniverso
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