"There’s a huge asterisk on this, we all know who the World No. 1 is" - Tennis fans unhappy at Carlos Alcaraz finishing controversial 2022 season as World No. 1

A combination of results on Day 3 of the 2022 Nitto ATP Finals confirmed Carlos Alcaraz as the youngest ever year-end World No. 1. The Spaniard has achieved the feat at the age of 19, leaving behind Australia's Lleyton Hewitt, who was 20 years old when he finished as the top-ranked player in 2001.

An abdominal injury forced Alcaraz to withdraw from the Paris Masters a couple of weeks ago, retiring mid-match during his quarterfinal clash against Holger Rune. That left Rafael Nadal and Stefanos Tsitsipas with a chance to dethrone Alcaraz and end the year as World No. 1.

However, neither of the players was able to achieve the desired results. Tsitsipas had to win the title unbeaten but he lost his first match, while Nadal had to reach the final but got eliminated after the first two matches.

Alcaraz finished his season with a win-loss record of 57-13 and lifted five singles titles. That included two Masters 1000 tournaments (Miami and Madrid) and his maiden Grand Slam title at the 2022 US Open.

Although some fans acknowledged the Spaniard's accomplishments, they did not hesitate to dub this year's rankings 'unfair'. Many opined that Novak Djokovic would have easily been the top player if he was allowed to compete in all tournaments and if his Wimbledon points had counted.

"Congratulations to him but let’s be honest the ranking are a farce this year. There’s a huge asterisk on this. We all know who the number 1 is and it isn’t Alcaraz, though I’m sure it will be for many years," a fan tweeted.

"Carlitos is year end NO.1 totally by accident. If they would of let Novak play in Australia where he lost 2,000 points, if they gave him 2000 points for actually winning Wimbledon, if he had a chance to participate in North American tour and if politics didn't play a role," a user posted.

"Carlos Alcaraz is a potential all-time great, besides being attractive to watch. He seems to have what it takes to excel, physically and mentally. However, none of this affects the argument that there is an asterisk on Year-End #1 due to the insane political agendas," another tweet read.

Here are some more fan reactions:

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"That's the next Federer, Nadal, and Djokovic" - Jimmy Connors on Carlos Alcaraz and other Next-Gen players

Carlos Alcaraz during a match at the Paris Masters

Speaking on the Advantage Connors podcast recently, Jimmy Connors suggested that the Next-Gen players were finally starting to challenge and replace the Big 3. The former World No. 1 stated that Carlos Alcaraz, Jannik Sinner, Felix Auger-Aliassime and Holger Rune could be the next Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic.

"Now, we are seeing a replacement for the three that have dominated the last 20 years — Federer, Nadal and Djokovic. These guys are stepping up. But stepping up for Paris is one thing, stepping up in Australia, Paris (French Open), Wimbledon, US Open, that's another thing," Connors said.

"It's good to see these young kids and how they are starting because nobody was stepping up. We were waiting for it, now it has started to happen. You know what the fun is gonna be? Alcaraz, Sinner, Felix, Rune all playing each other. That's the next Federer, Nadal, and Djokovic," he added.