By Richard Pagliaro | @Tennis_Now | Wednesday, October 11, 2023
Midway through the final set, Carlos Alcaraz erupted in a primal scream of frustration.
The Spanish superstar showed a rare flash of temper, but Grigor Dimitrov had the last word toppling the top-seeded Alcaraz 5-7, 6-2, 6-4 to charge into the Shanghai quarterfinals.
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Alcaraz had reached the quarterfinals or better in 13 of 14 tournament this season.
This loss not only ends Alcaraz's Asian swing—it hampers his hopes of surpassing No. 1 Novak Djokovic and regaining the top spot.
The Spanish superstar, who made his mark as the youngest year-end No. 1 in ATP history last year, trails the 24-time Grand Slam champion by 2,240 points in the ATP Live Rankings.
Asked if he's confident he can chase down the reigning Australian Open, Roland Garros and US Open champion, Alcaraz conceded "its going to be tougher."
"Well, this loss I needed to be a little bit farther. It's going to be tougher, if I want to be No. 1," Alcaraz told the media in Shanghai. "I have a few tournaments ahead, so I'll try to do my best. I'll try to, you know, win them, if I want to have a chance to end the year as No. 1.
"I don't know, but right now I lose a lot of opportunities to make it."
Is the year-end No. 1 ranking a lost cause for Alcaraz now?
No, but as he knows it will be very tough and he may well need some help from the man he's chasing.
Djokovic will lose 500 ranking points on Monday when the points from his 2022 Astana Open title drop off.
The 36-year-old Serbian is also defending 600 ranking points for his final finish at the 2022 Rolex Paris Masters and he's defending 1,500 points at next month's Nitto ATP Finals, an event Alcaraz did not play last season due to injury.
In contrast, the 20-year-old Alcaraz has just 360 ranking points on the line the rest of this season as he's defending points from the Basel semifinals and Paris quarterfinals.
So Alcaraz can make up ground, but may well need Djokovic to stumble a bit if he's to surpass the Serbian.
"After this loss, I mean, it's not too much time ago, so I have to think about it, but I will take a lot of lessons to improve in the practice before the tournament that I have ahead," Alcaraz said. "I think I'm playing great tennis. Even if I didn't make the quarterfinal or losing in the semifinal, I think I'm playing great tennis.
"So I have to practice a hundred percent in these weeks before Basel, that's the next tournament for me, so I'll try to make my best in that tournament."
Basel begins on October 23rd with the Rolex Paris Masters set to start on October 30th.
Photo credit: Emmanuel Wong/Getty