Carlos Alcaraz marked his return to the world number one spot by comfortably seeing off fellow Spaniard Albert Ramos-Vinolas in his first ever match at the Italian Open on Saturday, as play was cut short by miserable wet weather. In-form Alcaraz ensured top spot just by taking to the court to play his second round match in Rome as he seeks a third straight tournament win. The 20-year-old, who saw off Ramos-Vinolas 6-4, 6-1, will overtake Novak Djokovic as world number one and is assured of the top seeding at the French Open later this month.
He came through in a match which started several hours late due to the pelting rain which drenched the Italian capital.
"The conditions here weren't easy, the rain, the waiting all day, not knowing if I was going to play or not. It was tough," said Alcaraz.
He added: "For me it doesn't change too much to be number one or number two seed. I just focus on the tournament and on my game."
The Spaniard became the youngest ever world number one thanks to his US Open triumph last September, with Djokovic denied entry to the United States because of his Covid vaccination status.
Alcaraz will begin his 23rd week at world number one on May 22.
The second seed arrived in the Italian capital on a fine run after back-to-back clay court titles in Barcelona and Madrid, and he made short work of Ramos-Vinolas.
He took control of the match in what turned out to be the final game of the first set, breaking Ramos-Vinolas to take the lead in what had been up to that point a hard-fought match.
From there Alcaraz went through the gears, unleashing a wide repertoire of shots which left Ramos-Vinolas bamboozled and set up a third-round clash with either Jiri Lehecka or Fabian Marozsan.
Fifth-ranked Stefanos
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