Alcaraz Reclaims World No. 2 Ranking With Quarterfinal Win In Rome

Carlos Alcaraz, Rome
Carlos Alcaraz (photo: FITP/Giampiero Sposito)

ROME/WASHINGTON, May 14, 2025 (by Michael Dickens)

Wednesday afternoon’s Internazionali BNL d’Italia quarterfinal between World No. 3 Carlos Alcaraz and No. 5 Jack Draper wasn’t just a battle between the Top 2 players on the PIF ATP Live Race to Turin. There was more at stake.

The match would have an impact on seeding for Roland-Garros, as Alcaraz could guarantee a No. 2 seed for himself by reaching the semifinals, while the British No. 1 would pass current World No. 4 Taylor Fritz of the United States to reach a career-high No. 4 next Monday with a quarterfinal win and also secure a Top-4 seeding place in Paris.

The winner would also become the first man to reach three ATP Masters 1000 semifinals this season.

As it happened, Alcaraz put on a dazzling display of shot making against an in-form Draper that was superb and maintained a good attitude from first ball to last ball. In the end, Alcaraz’s 6-4, 6-4 victory over the 23-year-old Draper, completed in an hour and 37 minutes on a cloudy day in the Eternal City, advanced him into his 11th ATP Masters 1000 semifinal – and into the last four in Rome for the first time.

Alcaraz celebrated by signing the camera lens in Italian: Mi Piace Roma. ❤️ It translates to “I Like Rome,” which certainly has summed up the 22-year-old Spaniard’s current feelings and attitude this week in the Italian capital city.

Alcaraz, who was appearing in his first Rome quarterfinal, came in 24-2 on clay courts over the past year. He previously had won titles at all of the first four ATP Masters 1000 events of season (Indian Wells in 2023-24, Miami in 2022, Monte-Carlo this year and Madrid 2022-23). However, Alcaraz was aiming to make it past the quarterfinals for just the second time in the latter ATP Masters 1000 events (from Rome to Paris), following his run to the 2023 Cincinnati final.

Meanwhile, Draper was in hot pursuit of his 12th tour-level semifinal – and second on clay – after reaching the ATP Masters 1000 Madrid final earlier this month. A win over Alcaraz would have meant joining Jannik Sinner as the only players to defeat the four-time major champion on all three surfaces. He’ll have to wait a little longer for another opportunity.

Trailing 2-4 in the opening set, Alcaraz rallied to win it on the strength converting a pair of break points. Then, he saved two break points to hold for 4-all in the second set during a 16-point game that exceeded nine minutes.

Next, Alcaraz broke Draper at love for a 5-4 advantage with a skilled forehand drop shot – one of the best deceptive shots on Tour. It was his fourth break of the Briton’s serve in four opportunities during the quarterfinal skirmish – and it meant he would serve for the match. Draper could be seen during the changeover hanging his head in frustration. Little seemed to be going right for him – and he was running out of time.

Soon, Alcaraz set up match point with a running volley forehand return off the net cord that Draper whacked into the net. Then, he won the quarterfinal when Draper hit a forehand return wide that ended one last spirited, 12-shot rally and gave Alcaraz his ATP Tour-leading 28th triumph.

Alcaraz was asked during his on-court interview with ATP Media why he thought he dominated the biggest moments of his match with Draper. He said: “I think the most important thing that I did today was not thinking about the shots at all. Not thinking about the fact that I was down, just trying to do the things that make me happy. On court I just tried to be aggressive, play good shots, drop shots, go to the net. That’s what I like to do on the court, and I think that made the difference today.

“I played such a high rhythm during the whole match that I didn’t let him dominate or stay long in the rallies. I think that was a really good win today for me, and I’m just really proud about the way I approached the match.”

At the conclusion, Alcaraz raised his arms in celebration of victory, then shared a collegial embrace at the net with the fallen Draper. All was good between them as they walked off the court together smiling. When he returned to the court on Campo Centrale after depositing his racquet at his bench, Alcaraz beamed a big smile and gave two thumbs to the crowd in appreciation. He had showed his best tennis when it mattered most.

Alcaraz finished his quarterfinal triumph by hitting 24 winners – including 18 from his forehand side – and made 29 unforced errors. Draper mustered just eight winners while committing 18 unforced errors. Alcaraz controlled the net, winning 15 of 19 exchanges, and he saved six of eight break points he faced from Draper. Alcaraz outpointed his opponent 70-57.

The good news for Alcaraz is this: Not only is he through to the semifinal round on Friday, where he will face World No. 9 and eighth seed Lorenzo Musetti of Italy, who upset current World No. 2 and second seed Alexander Zverev of Germany, 7-6 (1), 6-4, in two hours and 15 minutes late Wednesday evening on Campo Centrale. The defending French Open champion Alcaraz is also guaranteed the No. 2 seeding at Roland-Garros, which assures he’ll be on the opposite side of the draw from the World No. 1 Sinner, as a result of reclaiming the World No. 2 spot from Zverev in the PIF ATP Rankings.

Just how close to his best does Alcaraz feel he’s playing? “I just feel I’m playing great tennis on clay,” he said. … “I just want to keep it going and try to do as good as I can. I’m happy to feel the good rhythm and feel the good tennis again here in Rome – and this [win] gives me a lot of confidence.”

The same can be said for Musetti, who is playing in his first event as a Top-10 player. He relied upon the home crowd that filled the 10,500-seat Campo Centrale and cheered his every point – all 80 of them. It was his second win against at Top-2 player. By defeating Zverev, he became the ninth man to reach the semifinals or better at all three clay-court ATP Masters 1000 events in one season (Monte-Carlo, Madrid and Rome) and the third Italian since 2000 to make the last four in Rome. On Thursday, Sinner will try to become the fourth.

“Full crowd, full stadium, and that’s a big advantage. All this week there has been incredible support from the fans,” Musetti said during his late-night on-court interview with ATP Media. “I felt the adrenaline and energy from the first point, even if it was not an easy start, but I managed to come back and find a way, and that’s the key of this match.”

Ruud continues his pursuit of Madrid/Rome double

The last time a player won back-to-back ATP Masters 1000 titles in Madrid and Rome was Rafael Nadal in 2013. On Wednesday afternoon, World No. 7 and sixth seed Casper Ruud of Norway kept his hopes alive after advancing to the quarterfinal round with a 6-3, 6-4 victory No. 66 Jaume Munar of Spain in an hour and 37 minutes on Grand Stand Arena for his 24th win of the season. The fourth-round match was postponed from Tuesday night on Campo Centrale due to rain, which delayed the start of the evening session at Foro Italico.

Since the start of the 2020 season, Ruud leads the ATP Tour in clay-court wins (128), finals (17) and titles (12). With his straight-set win over Munar, Ruud has won nine straight – all on clay, including the biggest title of his career at Madrid earlier this month – and the loss kept the Spaniard from reaching his first ATP Masters 1000 quarterfinal and fourth Top-10 win. Ruu has achieved the quarterfinals or better in each of the ATP Masters 1000 events on clay in 2025 (Monte-Carlo, Madrid and Rome).

Ruud finished with 19 winners – 16 off them forehands – and won nearly half of his points from the baseline. He also controlled the net, winning 15 of 20 exchanges, and converted two of five break points against Munar while saving both break-point chances he faced. Ruud outpointed Munar 64-51.

Next, Ruud will play World No. 1 and top seed Jannik Sinner in the quarterfinals on Thursday. Ruud is the first Madrid champion to reach the Rome quarterfinals since Alexander Zverev in 2021.

Ruud was asked during his on-court interview with ATP Media how much confidence the number of match wins on clay will give him against Sinner. After all, the 23-year-old Italian has beaten him all three times they’ve faced each other.

“Match wins is one thing and of course to do it at the biggest tournament is another,” Ruud said. “I’ve had a little bit of both. But I would consider Alcaraz has had a better four or five years than me on this surface. He won Paris, he won Madrid a couple times. He won Monte-Carlo. So, by far, way more big titles than myself. But it’s been a steady five years for me on this surface. That’s why I keep saying I love coming back here. 

“I kind of feel like I’m in my backyard. But that doesn’t mean I don’t lose matches on this surface. I lost already a couple this year. I’m on a good roll. But tomorrow will be one of the toughest matches of the year probably. 

“I got beaten pretty badly by Jannik in Turin. This time we’re playing in Italy again but it’s another surface, another tournament. So, let’s see. He’s been looking good since the first match. I’ve been feeling pretty good. It’s going to be a good one tomorrow.”

Around Foro Italico

Marcelo Arevalo of El Salvador and Mate Pavic of Croatia, the top seeds in the men’s doubles draw, advanced to the quarterfinal round with a 7-5, 4-6, 10-2 victory over Sander Gille of Belgium and Jan Zielinski of Poland, in one hour and 34 minutes on Supertennis Arena. The winners combined to hit 10 aces, won 88 percent of their first-serve points and outpointed their opponents 69-58.

After defeating Julian Cash of Great Britain and Lucas Miedler of Austria in the first round, the Salvadoran/Croatian duo continued their winning ways and advanced to their fifth straight ATP Masters 1000 quarterfinal this season. Earlier this season, Arevalo and Pavic won the Sunshine Double – capturing Indian Wells and Miami back-to-back – then reached the semifinals at Monte-Carlo and the final at Madrid.

With their latest win, Arevalo and Pavic improved to 26-7 this season. Next, they will play No. 7 seeds Christian Harrison and Evan King of the United States. The American pair defeated Andre Goransson of Sweden and Sem Verbeek of the Netherlands, 6-3, 6-2, in 64 minutes on Supertennis Arena.

Wednesday’s Rome results

Thursday’s Rome order of play

By the numbers

Since the ATP Masters 1000 series began in 1990, Rafael Nadal holds the record for most ATP Masters 1000 semifinals on clay with 37. Second is Novak Djokovic (28) and third is Roger Federer (19). Alexander Zverev is tied with David Ferrer for fourth (9).

“Quotable …”

“… Quarters, it’s a great result, no? Coming back, I just tried to put myself in the best possible position to see what’s happening. I mean, I’m glad that today was so many difficult situations. That’s exactly what I need trying to find my rhythm again, trying to find my mental strength again and everything together.

“Yeah, was a great match today. Obviously very happy that I can play at least one more match. Let’s see what’s coming. [Wednesday] is a day off, try to recover in the best possible way and hopefully be ready for the next one.

“For the first tournament, I’m very, very happy.”

– World No. 1 and top seed Jannik Sinner of Italy, during his post-match news conference Tuesday evening, after defeating No. 17 seed Francisco Cerundolo of Argentina, 7-6 (2), 6-3.

 

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