Last Sunday, Carlos Alcaraz won his first title in 2025 and finally broke his curse in indoor tournaments. The 21-year-old from Murcia became the first Spanish player to lift the trophy in Rotterdam, prevailing over his opponents despite not playing his best tennis for most of the week (also due to an annoying cold).
Thanks to this triumph, the 4-time Grand Slam champion – who had not gone beyond the quarterfinals at the Australian Open – has shortened his gap to Alexander Zverev, who occupies the second position in the ATP ranking.
The German player had overtaken Carlitos at the end of last year, thanks to his victory at the Rolex Paris Masters in November.
Zverev defends more points than Alcaraz
The Spaniard will have to defend 1500 points between now and Roland Garros, the second Major of 2025 which will take place at the end of May. In particular, the current world number 3 will lose the 100 points he won in Buenos Aires in 2024 but will be able to make up further points by playing the Doha ATP 500 next week.
The former world number 1 will then have to defend 1000 points in Indian Wells, where he has triumphed in the last two editions.
Finally, Carlos will have 200 points to defend at both the Miami Open and the Madrid Open, while his presence in Monte Carlo (a tournament he missed due to injury last year) is uncertain. The same goes for the Rome Masters 1000.
Sascha – on the other hand – will have to defend 1950 points between now and the French Open. 100 points in Los Cabos, 200 points in Indian Wells, 400 points in Miami, 100 points in Monte Carlo, 50 points in Munich, 100 points in Madrid and 1000 points in Rome, where he lifted the trophy in the last edition.
For both it would be very important to arrive at Roland Garros in second position in the ATP ranking, to avoid the risk of having to face Jannik Sinner already in the semifinals.
The result of this contest will also depend on the physical condition of Carlitos, who has often had injuries in this part of the season.
Tennis World USA