2023 Carlos Alcaraz tennis season

Australian Open withdrawal

Alcaraz withdrew from the Australian Open after suffering an injury to the hamstring in his right leg during preseason training.^[5] Following the tournament, Alcaraz lost the world No. 1 ranking to Novak Djokovic; he had held it for a total of 20 weeks.

Argentina Open

Alcaraz made his season debut in Buenos Aires, where he was playing for the first time. He defeated second seed Cameron Norrie in the final in straight sets to claim his first title since his first major win at the US Open in 2022.^[6]

Rio Open

The next week, Alcaraz reached the final of the Rio Open, where he was defending champion, also against Norrie; however, he aggravated his leg injury during the match and lost in three sets.^[7] Alcaraz then withdrew from the Mexican Open, citing the same injury.^[8]

Indian Wells

Alcaraz then returned to Indian Wells. He recorded his 100th career win by defeating 31st seed Tallon Griekspoor in the third round, making him the second fastest player to reach this milestone after John McEnroe.^[9] He defeated eleventh seed Jannik Sinner in the semifinals, and second seed Daniil Medvedev in the final, to lift the trophy without dropping a single set.^[10] This was Alcaraz's eighth career title and third ATP 1000 title. He broke Medvedev's 19-match winning streak, and became the first player to win Indian Wells without dropping a set since Roger Federer in 2017. He also became the ninth and youngest man to win both legs of the Sunshine Double. As a result, he regained the world No. 1 ranking on 20 March 2023.^[11]

Miami Open

Alcaraz hoped to complete the Sunshine Double in Miami, where he was the defending champion. He reached the semifinals without dropping a set, defeating Facundo Bagnis, Dušan Lajović, 16th seed Tommy Paul and ninth seed Taylor Fritz. He then lost to Jannik Sinner in three sets.^[12] With the loss of his title points, Alcaraz dropped back to No. 2 in the world rankings.^[13]

Barcelona Open

Alcaraz defended his title in Barcelona without dropping a set.^[15] It took him less than eighty minutes to dispatch second seed Stefanos Tsitsipas in the final.^[16] This was the first successful title defense of his career.

Madrid Open

Alcaraz also successfully defended his title in Madrid, beating lucky loser Jan-Lennard Struff in the final in three sets.^[17] This was Alcaraz's 21st consecutive match win on Spanish clay.^[18]

Italian Open

Alcaraz played the Italian Open for the first time in his career. He received a bye into the second round, and retrieved the world No. 1 ranking from Novak Djokovic simply by playing that match. He was then upset by world No. 135 Fábián Marozsán in the third round in straight sets. Marozsán became the lowest ranked player to beat Alcaraz since July 2021.^[19] Jon Wertheim labelled this the biggest upset of the year.^[20]

French Open

Alcaraz arrived at Roland Garros in red-hot form, and only dropped one set before the semifinals (to Taro Daniel in the second round). In the semifinals, Alcaraz met Novak Djokovic for their second career meeting. This was a highly anticipated showdown, as the two men had not played a match in over a year despite their ongoing fight over the world No. 1 ranking.^[21][22] The match was competitive until Alcaraz faltered at the start of the third set due to cramps from mental pressure and physical intensity; Djokovic won in four sets, going on to win the tournament and regain the No. 1 ranking.^[23]

Queen's Club Championships

Alcaraz elected to play at the Queen's Club for the first time as a warm-up tournament before Wimbledon. Alcaraz had little experience on grass, and as a Spanish clay courter with a relatively weak serve, was not expected to dominate there. Alcaraz dropped the first set of his first match at Queen's to Arthur Rinderknech. He improved his movement on grass as the match progressed to snatch the second set, and then rallied from a break down to win the third set in a tiebreak, 4–6, 7–5, 7–6^(7-3).^[24] Alcaraz then sailed through the rest of the tournament without dropping a set, defeating Alex de Minaur in the final. This was Alcaraz's first career title on grass in only his third career tournament on grass.^[25] This victory also restored him as world No. 1, and positioned him as top seed for Wimbledon.^[26]

Wimbledon

Despite this victory, expectations remained cautious for Alcaraz at Wimbledon. However, he only dropped two sets en route to the final, where he faced off against seven-time champion and four-time defending champion Novak Djokovic. After being breadsticked in a lopsided first set, Alcaraz regrouped to win the second set in a tiebreak and to breadstick Djokovic back in the third set. He lost the fourth set, but broke early in the fifth to win the match (1–6, 7–6^(8–6), 6–1, 3–6, 6–4). The match had lasted four hours and forty-two minutes, and was instantly acclaimed as a modern epic.^[27] This was Alcaraz's first Wimbledon title, and his second major title overall.^[28] Alcaraz became the only man outside the Big Four to claim the Wimbledon singles title since 2002, before he himself had been born.^[29] With this win, Alcaraz became the second player, after Andy Murray, to defeat Djokovic in a Wimbledon final.^[30] Additionally, Alcaraz became the first non-"Big 4" player to win Wimbledon since Lleyton Hewitt's victory in 2002.^[31]

Prior to the tournament, Djokovic and Daniil Medvedev had both been in contention to seize the No. 1 ranking. Alcaraz retained the ranking with his victory, and became the first player to qualify for the year-end championships.^[32][33]

Canadian Open

Alcaraz entered the Canadian Open for the second time in his career. He reached the quarterfinals, where he lost to Tommy Paul for the second year in a row. This ended Alcaraz's fourteen-match winning streak.^[34]

Cincinnati Open

Alcaraz then played in Cincinnati. He was taken to three sets in every round but nevertheless reached the final, where he once again faced off against Novak Djokovic. Alcaraz took an initial lead, but Djokovic fought off a championship point in the second set to eventually win in three. The match was the longest best-of-three-sets ATP Tour final in history, as well as the longest match in the tournament's history, at 3 hours and 49 minutes. It was once again immediately heralded as one of the best matches ever.^[35][36] Alcaraz then entered the US Open as defending champion. Having dropped only one set to reach the semifinal, Alcaraz was then upset in four sets by another former champion, third seed Daniil Medvedev.^[37] Following the tournament Alcaraz lost the No. 1 ranking once again to eventual champion Djokovic, who had not been defending any points.^[38] He additionally withdrew from the Davis Cup Finals, citing tiredness.^[39]

China Open

Alcaraz entered the autumn-winter hardcourt season with the goal of gaining the year-end No. 1 ranking.^[40][41] He played the Asian swing for the first time, where his results were mixed. In Beijing, he reached the semifinals, where he lost to eventual champion Jannik Sinner in straight sets.^[42]

Shanghai Open

Alcaraz lost in the fourth round of the Shanghai Masters to Grigor Dimitrov in three sets.^[43]

Paris Masters

Alcaraz entered the Paris Masters. He received a bye into the second round, where he was upset by qualifier Roman Safiullin in straight sets.^[45] This was Alcaraz's first and only opening round loss of the season.

ATP Finals

Alcaraz qualified for the ATP Finals for the second year in a row, and played them for the first time. He lost to Alexander Zverev in the round robin stage but defeated Andrey Rublev and Daniil Medvedev to qualify for the semifinals, where he lost decisively to eventual champion Novak Djokovic in straight sets.^[46] Alcaraz ended the year ranked No. 2.

Singles

More information Tournament, Match ...

Tournament	Match	Round	Opponent (seed or key)	Rank	Result	Score
Hopman Cup Nice, France Hopman Cup Clay, outdoor 19 – 23 July 2023
	1 / 1	RR	David Goffin	111	Win	4–6, 6–4, [10–8]
	3 / 3	RR	Borna Ćorić	15	Win	6–3, 6–7(6–8), [10–5]

Close

Mixed doubles

More information Tournament, Match ...

Tournament	Match	Round	Opponents (seed or key)	Ranks	Result	Score
Hopman Cup Nice, France Hopman Cup Clay, outdoor 19 – 23 July 2023 Partner: Rebeka Masarova
	2 / 2	RR	David Goffin / Elise Mertens	842 / 6	Loss	3–6, 1–6
	4 / 4	RR	Borna Ćorić / Donna Vekić	– / 910	Loss	6–1, 4–6, [12–14]

Close

Singles: 8 (6 Titles, 2 Runner-ups)

More information Result, W–L ...

Result	W–L	Date	Tournament	Tier	Surface	Opponent	Score
Win	1–0	Feb 2023	Argentina Open, Argentina	250 Series	Clay	Cameron Norrie	6–3, 7–5
Lost	1–1	Feb 2023	Rio Open, Brazil	500 Series	Clay	Cameron Norrie	7–5, 4–6, 5–7
Win	2–1	Mar 2023	Indian Wells Masters, United States	Masters 1000	Hard	Daniil Medvedev	6–3, 6–2
Win	3–1	Apr 2023	Barcelona Open, Spain	500 Series	Clay	Stefanos Tsitsipas	6–3, 6–4
Win	4–1	May 2023	Madrid Open, Spain	Masters 1000	Clay	Jan-Lennard Struff	6–4, 3–6, 6–3
Win	5–1	Jun 2023	Queen's Club, United Kingdom	500 Series	Grass	Alex de Minaur	6–4, 6–4
Win	6–1	Jun 2023	Wimbledon, United Kingdom	Grand Slam	Grass	Novak Djokovic	1–6, 7–6(8–6), 6–1, 3–6, 6–4
Lost	6–2	Aug 2023	Cincinnati Masters, United States	Masters 1000	Hard	Novak Djokovic	7–5, 6–7(7–9), 6–7(4–7)

Close