London, June 24: Carlos Alcaraz extended his lead over Jannik Sinner in the battle for ATP Year-End No. 1 presented by PIF honours by winning the HSBC Championships.Alcaraz and Sinner both competed at ATP 500 events this week, with the Italian playing at the Terra Wortmann Open in Halle. But when Sinner lost in the second round to eventual champion Alexander Bublik, he opened the door for his great rival in the chase for year-end No. 1.
Alcaraz took full advantage and increased his lead in the PIF ATP Live Race To Turin from 1,790 points to 2,240 points. The Live Race is a good measuring stick for the year-end No. 1 battle.
Entering the Roland Garros final, Alcaraz led Sinner by just 1,090 points, and the Italian could have cut the deficit to 390 points by lifting the Coupe des Mousquetaires. Instead, Alcaraz has now built a sizable advantage leading into Wimbledon. He cannot relinquish top spot in the Live Race after the grass-court major even if he loses in the first round and Sinner wins the title.
Both men have earned ATP Year-End No. 1 presented by PIF Honours before — Alcaraz did it in 2022 and Sinner accomplished the feat last season. Between them, they are in good position to finish year-end No. 1 again, although there is plenty of season remaining.
Alexander Zverev, who reached the Halle semi-finals before falling to finalist Daniil Medvedev, is in third place with 3,270 points. It was a big week for Medvedev, who earned 330 points at the German ATP 500 event to climb to 14th in the Live Race. The 2020 Nitto ATP Finals champion is trying to bounce back from a 19-12 start to his season, according to the Infosys ATP Win/Loss Index, to qualify for the season finale for the seventh consecutive season.