"Hammered home pretty well" - Carlos Alcaraz's poor ATP Finals run in contrast to Jannik Sinner's justifies 'huge' ranking gap, opines tennis insider

Jannik Sinner advanced to the semifinals of the ATP Finals after going undefeated in the Round Robin stage but Carlos Alcaraz was ousted after facing two defeats. Tennis insider Ben Rothenberg linked these performances to the "huge" gap in their ranking points.

World No. 1 Sinner and World No. 3 Alcaraz were drawn into separate groups at the year-end championships in Turin. The Italian oozed confidence in each of his three Round Robin matches winning in straight sets against Alex de Minaur, Taylor Fritz, and Daniil Medvedev to qualify into the semifinal as the group winner.

Alcaraz, however, was in trouble from the get-go due to an illness. He was seen facing discomfort during his straight-sets loss to Casper Ruud in the opening match. The Spaniard later confirmed his fitness issues but he and his team ruled out any withdrawal speculation.

The 21-year-old looked solid against Andrey Rublev, winning the match in straight sets and keeping himself in contention to qualify. However, on Friday, November 15, Alcaraz was beaten in straight sets by World No. 2 Alexander Zverev, thus getting ousted from the event.

In the latest rankings released last Monday, Sinner tops the ATP rankings with 10,330 points and Alcaraz is in third place with 6,810 points. Rothenberg believes the young rivals' performances in Turin reflect the state of this gap.

"This week has hammered home pretty well why the ranking points gap between Sinner and Alcaraz is as huge as it is," he wrote on X.

Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz have both won two Grand Slams each this year. Apart from Majors, the Italian has dominated the tour comparatively more than the Spaniard in 2024.

Before the ATP Finals semifinal, Sinner held a 68-6 record this season compared to Alcaraz's 53-13. The Italian has also won seven titles (including three Masters 1000 events) compared to Alcaraz's four (including one Masters 1000 event).

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Jannik Sinner to face Casper Ruud in ATP Finals SF, Carlos Alcaraz to join Rafael Nadal for Davis Cup Finals

Jannik Sinner (L) and Carlos Alcaraz at the Six Kings Slam (Image: Getty)

Up next for World No. 1 Jannik Sinner is a semifinal clash against Casper Ruud at the ATP Finals. Sinner topped the Ilie Nastase Group without dropping a set while Ruud finished second in the John Newcombe Group defeating Carlos Alcaraz and Andrey Rublev.

Sinner and Ruud have faced each other twice before and the Italian has won both encounters in straight sets. Their third encounter is set for Saturday, November 16.

Meanwhile, Carlos Alcaraz is set to join his idol Rafael Nadal in Malaga to represent Spain at the Davis Cup Finals. The team event is going to be Nadal's final tournament of his pro career. He arrived in Malaga amid much fanfare and began practicing as well.

Alcaraz and Nadal will join forces to represent Spain against the Netherlands next week in the quarterfinal of the Davis Cup Finals.