Carlos Alcaraz has significantly reduced the points gap with world No.1 Jannik Sinner after advancing to the quarter-finals of the Queen's ATP 500 tournament on grass. The 22-year-old Spanish star, currently ranked second in the world, will face Arthur Rinderknech today at around 5:00 PM Spanish time.
With Sinner's unexpected elimination in the Halle tournament's Round of 16 by Alexander Bublik, the Italian lost 450 of the 500 points he was defending as champion. This has narrowed the gap between the two young tennis sensations to just 1,530 points – 500 fewer than before their respective grass tournaments began.
Alcaraz has already improved on his 2024 Queen's performance by reaching the quarter-finals, adding 50 points to his tally. If he defeats 29-year-old Rinderknech (world No.80), who entered the tournament as a lucky loser after failing to qualify initially, he'll gain another 100 ranking points.
Interestingly, this will be the third meeting between Alcaraz and the French player, with the Spaniard holding a 2-0 head-to-head advantage. Their previous encounter at Queen's 2023 was particularly challenging, with Alcaraz prevailing 4-6, 7-5, 7-6(3) before going on to win the tournament.
Should Alcaraz claim the title again this year, his ranking points would increase to 9,300, leaving him just 1,130 points behind Sinner – a gap he could potentially close during the North American hard court season in August.
Worth noting is that in this season's Race to Turin standings (points earned only in 2024), Alcaraz leads with 5,840 points compared to Sinner's 4,000, suggesting the Spaniard is in better form this year despite his lower overall ranking.
Can Alcaraz continue his momentum on grass and position himself for a serious challenge to the No.1 spot after Wimbledon? Today's match against Rinderknech will be another important step in that journey.
