Carlos Alcaraz has vowed to “keep going” after becoming the youngest player since Rafael Nadal to break into the top five of the ATP rankings.
The Spaniard lost the Hamburg European Open final to Lorenzo Musetti on Sunday, and had he won then Alcaraz would have moved up to No. 4.
Nevertheless, Alcaraz has climbed one place to No. 5, and at 19 years old he slots into second this century for the youngest male players to crack the top five.
Nadal was 18 when doing so back in May 2005, while Novak Djokovic was also 19 when breaking into the top five in April 2007 – making Alcaraz just the third teenager since 2000 to achieve this feat. Lleyton Hewitt (June 2001) and Alexander Zverev (September 2017) were both 20.
“It means a lot. The hard work that I put in every day for reaching my dreams, [No.] 1, and little by little I’m reaching my dream,” Alcaraz said.
“Top five for me is pretty amazing and I will keep going to be [No.] 1.”
Alcaraz has made his dream of becoming No. 1 no secret in the past, and this week he will look to retain his ATP title at the Plava Laguna Croatia Open Umag.
“Of course Umag is a special tournament for me. I got my first title there, so I’m defending the title this year,” Alcaraz added.
“But I’m going to try to play my best and of course take lessons from here.”
Big movers in the ATP rankings include Francisco Cerundolo, up six places to No. 24, while Musetti’s Hamburg triumph has helped him jump to No. 31.
“I have no words because it was a roller-coaster until the end. I had so many match points. Carlos was so good on the match points, [I had] so many chances,” Musetti said after winning his first ATP Tour title.
“But I think the key of the match was to keep calm and [have] all the patience [with] myself because it was really not easy. Carlos was putting so much effort in the match points when he was down, so it was not easy to find the energy to come back.
“But I cannot describe what I am feeling right now. I think I am still dreaming.”
Dominic Thiem is back in the top 200, rising 75 places to No. 199 after reaching the Gstaad semis in Switzerland.
