ROME — Carlos Alcaraz will reclaim the World No. 1 ranking after beating Albert Ramos-Vinolas 6-4, 6-1 in his Italian Open debut.
Alcaraz will pass Novak Djokovic for the top spot when the rankings are next published on May 22 – ensuring he will get the No. 1 seeding at the French Open, which starts on May 28.
Alcaraz double-faulted to hand Ramos-Vinolas a break of his serve in the opening game of the match but quickly recovered and used his well-disguised drop shot to set up the key break at the end of the first set.
Alcaraz produced nearly three times as many winners as Ramos-Vinolas, 28-11, despite slow conditions on a rainy day at the Foro Italico.
Coming off titles in Barcelona and Madrid, Alcaraz extended his winning streak to 12 matches and improved to 20-1 on clay this year.
In other second-round matches, sixth-seeded Andrey Rublev beat Alex Molcan 6-3, 6-4; J.J. Wolf eliminated 14th-seeded Hubert Hurkacz 6-3, 6-4; and Borna Coric rallied past Thiago Monteiro 4-6, 7-6 (8), 7-6 (5).
Holder Djokovic began his hunt for a seventh Italian Open title by battling past the unseeded Tomas Martin Etcheverry 7-6(5) 6-2 while women’s champion Iga Swiatek delivered a masterclass to reach the third round.
Djokovic got off to a shaky start by dropping his serve in the opening game of the second-round match.
The Serbian, who pulled out of the Madrid Open last month, wore a compression sleeve on his right arm, sparking concerns about a niggling elbow issue.
The 22-times Grand Slam champion, who had a first-round bye, also appeared unwell at one point and asked his team for medical assistance during a changeover.
He squandered a chance to break back immediately but pounced when Etcheverry double-faulted and sent a forehand wide to level the set at 3-3.
The Argentinian forced a tiebreak where he raced ahead 5-3 but Djokovic began to dictate terms by stretching the rallies and clawed his way back to wrap up the set before grabbing an early break in the next.
“I haven’t played too many claycourt matches this season but you can say it was the best one so far,” said Djokovic according to Reuters.
“Still not at the desired level, still finding the shots and that groove on the court. It’s always a little tricky playing somebody for the first time. He’s a claycourt specialist and started better than I did.
“But I found my groove towards the end of the first set and the second set was good, especially the last three or four games.”
In the women’s third round, Colombian qualifier Camila Osorio upset fifth-seeded Caroline Garcia 6-4, 6-4; Anhelina Kalinina beat Sofia Kenin 6-4, 6-2; and Wang Xiyu defeated Taylor Townsend 6-2, 0-6, 7-5.
The start of play was delayed for nearly two hours due to rain and there was also a brief interruption during the first set of the Rublev-Molcan match. Then there was a downpour during the final points, as Rublev hurried to close it out.
“I can rest now and I can rest tomorrow. I don´t need to stress waiting,” said Rublev, who won the Monte Carlo Masters last month. “It´s very lucky when you are able to finish just before the rain and you know that most of the players still didn´t play.”
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