Tennis News: Carlos Alcaraz becomes the youngest ATP number one
The defeat of Rafael Nadal to Felix Auger Aliassime in a round-robin clash of the Nitto ATP Finals on November 15 cleared the way for Carlos Alcaraz to end the year at the top spot on the Pepperstone ATP Live Rankings
![Carlos Alcaraz has been top of the ATP Rankings since winning the US Open in September](https://cms.kismasport.com/storage/images/carlos-alcaraz_777x444.webp)
The Spanish sensation has enjoyed an excellent season, rising to the top spot from the world's no. 32 at the beginning of the season.
The achievement will make Carlos Alcaraz, aged 19, the youngest player since Lleyton Hewitt, age 20 years, 275 days in 2001 to end the year at the top of the ATP rankings.
Carlos Alcaraz won five titles in the 2022 season, including two Masters 1000 trophies at the Miami Open and Madrid Open. He also won his maiden Grand Slam at the US Open after beating Casper Ruud of Norway, making him the youngest player to win the title at a Grand Slam event since Rafael Nadal in 2005.
Novak Djokovic beats Andrey Rublev to book a semifinal spot
Serbian legend Novak Djokovic secured a comfortable straight set 6-4, 6-1 victory over Andrey Rublev of Russia in a group stage match of the Nitto ATP Finals at Pala Alpitour in Turin, Italy, on November 16.
The former world's number one, Novak Djokovic, aims to tie Roger Federer's record of winning six ATP Finals titles. He fended off the powerful forehand strikes from his Russian opponent in the early stages of the first set and put forth an excellent display of agility.
The 21-time Grand Slam winner controlled the game's flow from the baseline and secured his victory after one hour and eight minutes of play while committing just six unforced errors.
Novak Djokovic served 12 aces, won 94% of the points on the first serve and broke the serve of his Russian opponent three times from four opportunities. In contrast, Andrey Rublev served ten aces, won 66% of the points on the first serve and committed one double fault.
After the victory, Novak Djokovic said, "I played very, very well. One of the best matches of the year without a doubt. He is a tough opponent. A great competitor. He possesses a lot of strengths in his game. I managed to find the right attitude and the right game."
The victory made Novak Djokovic the second player to book a semifinal spot after Casper Ruud. He will lock horns with another Russian, Daniil Medvedev, in his final group-stage match of the Nitto ATP Finals on November 18.
In another group stage clash of the day, Stefanos Tsitsipas edged past Daniil Medvedev 6-3, 7-6(13-11), 7-6(7-1) after a hard-fought three-set clash.
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