Back At No. 1, But Alcaraz Faces Immediate Threat In Miami

Carlos Alcaraz will return to World No. 1 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings on Monday, but the teen has no time to relax. His spot atop the standings will be at risk during the Miami Open presented by Itau.

Alcaraz will swap places with Novak Djokovic on Monday. However, Alcaraz does must defend his Miami title to stay No. 1 ahead of Djokovic on 3 April.

Pepperstone ATP Rankings (20 March)

At the start of the Miami ATP Masters 1000 event, Djokovic will own a 740-point lead over Alcaraz in the Pepperstone ATP Live Rankings because the 19-year-old will drop the 1,000 points he earned at the tournament last year.

If the Spaniard wins the title, he will continue adding to his total number of weeks at World No. 1, which will reach 22 over the course of the Miami Open presented by Itau.

At only 19, Alcaraz is guaranteed to spend more time at World No. 1 than Yevgeny Kafelnikov, Thomas Muster, Marcelo Rios, Carlos Moya and Patrick Rafter combined (21 weeks).

Individually, Alcaraz has also spent more time as No. 1 than the man he defeated in the BNP Paribas Open final, Daniil Medvedev (16), Andy Roddick (13), Boris Becker (12), Marat Safin (9), John Newcombe (8) and his coach, Juan Carlos Ferrero (8).

The battle for World No. 1 between at least Alcaraz and Djokovic will not slow down any time soon. Both men are defending almost exactly the same number of points during the clay-court season.

Djokovic is defending 1,880 points compared to 1,870 for Alcaraz. Both reached the quarter-finals at Roland Garros and claimed a Masters 1000 crown during the swing.