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Carlos Alcaraz has slipped to No 3 in the ATP Rankings and will in all likelihood be seeded third at the US Open, which means he is vulnerable to facing some big names earlier than usual at a Grand Slam.
The seven-time major champion’s injury-forced absence has resulted in him missing the Madrid Open, Italian Open, French Open, Queen’s Club Championship and Wimbledon, while he will also be absent from the upcoming Canadian Open.
But there is finally light at the end of the tunnel for the Spaniard as he is expected to make his long-awaited comeback at the Cincinnati Open as his name has been included on the entry list as well as the US Open.
Alcaraz was No 2 in the rankings before his injury and was involved in a tight battle for the No 1 spot with Jannik Sinner, but he dropped more than 5,000 ranking points in the past three months with the bulk of that coming at the French Open (2,000), Wimbledon (1,300) and Italian Open (1,000).
Carlos Alcaraz News
Carlos Alcaraz injury concern grows as he’s still training at ‘very low intensity’ ahead of US Open
With Alexander Zverev winning the French Open, the 23-year-old will be No 3 when he makes his return at the ATP Masters 1000 event in Cincinnati and he faces a near-impossible task to return to No 2 ahead of the US Open.
ATP Rankings Top 5 On 20 July
1. Jannik Sinner – 13,450
2. Alexander Zverev – 8,480
3. Carlos Alcaraz – 8,160
4. Felix Auger-Aliassime – 4,740
5. Alex de Minaur – 4,110
Although Alcaraz is only 320 points behind Zverev, he will drop 1,000 points at the Cincinnati Open as he is the defending champion.
Zverev, meanwhile, has 400 points to defend at the Canadian Open and another 400 in Cincinnati so Alcaraz will not only need to defend his title in Mason, but also hope the German loses early at both events.
What It Means For The US Open Ranking…
Sinner is assured of being the top seed at the US Open and with Zverev likely to be seeded No 2, Alcaraz could potentially face the Italian in the semi-final and Zverev in the final.
With Sinner and Alcaraz dominating the top two positions in the ATP Rankings in recent years, their last eight meetings have been in final and you have to go back to the 2024 French Open for the last time they met before a final as they squared off in the last four on that occasion.
Alcaraz is also vulnerable to facing Novak Djokovic earlier than usual as the 24-time Grand Slam winner is currently seventh in the rankings and the pair could meet in the quarter-finals at Flushing Meadows.
