Carlos Alcaraz makes winning start in Rome debut, reclaims world No. 1 over Novak Djokovic

WATCH: Alcaraz made relatively quick work of his countryman at the Foro Italico on Saturday.

Carlos Alcaraz found his sunshine through a rainy Saturday in Rome, assuring himself of a return to world No. 1 on the ATP rankings after defeating Albert Ramos-Viñolas, 6-4, 6-1 at the Interaznionali BNL d’Italia to extend his winning streak to 12 in a row.

The reigning US Open champion was making his debut at the Foro Italico, but needed only to take the court to surpass current No. 1 Novak Djokovic, who is Rome’s defending champion; the 20-year-old Spaniard went one better by knocking out his countryman in under 90 minutes on Campo Centrale.

The win also guarantees Alcaraz will be the top seed at Roland Garros, another milestone for the fast-rising youngster.

“It’s something crazy that I couldn’t believe it years ago,” he said on court after the match. “I’m really happy, but for me, it doesn’t change too much to be No. 1 or No. 2 seed. I just focus on the tournament, my game on every match, so that’s something I try not to think about.

“Still, it’s great to be No. 1.”

Alcaraz left little room for doubt by the match’s end, securing victory with his 28th winner, a forehand into the open court, but the Spaniard admitted it was a tough journey getting there.

“It wasn’t easy; the first round of every tournament is really tough, and Ramos on clay is a really tough opponent. I had to adapt my game really quickly to be able to get through.”

A rainy day in Rome meant play was repeatedly suspended throughout the afternoon. Alcaraz was scheduled as the second match of the day but didn’t make it on court until late in the afternoon to take on Ramos-Viñolas, who served as then-16-year-old’s first-ever ATP opponent back in 2020.

‘The conditions weren’t easy as well. The rain, the waiting all day. I didn’t know if I was going to play or not so it was really tough, but I’m happy with my performance in the end and happy to be in the next round.”

For his part, the veteran Ramos-Viñolas did all he could to keep things close on the outset, breaking serve to start the match and taking a 2-0 lead; Alcaraz recovered from there and reeled off 12 of the final 15 games to book his spot in the third round, where either No. 32 seed Jiri Lehecka or Hungarian qualifier Fabian Marozsan awaits.

“Your biggest rival is yourself,” Alcaraz mused before the tournament. “It's not only for me, it's for everyone. You have to control yourself, your emotions first, then playing against the opponent.

“You have to choose the correct things in every moment. That is really tough 'cause we have just seconds before hitting the ball. It's tough.”

Alcaraz has already enjoyed 22 weeks atop the ATP rankings—the 16th-longest streak since the rankings began—and will add to that total starting the Monday after the Internazionali BNL d’Italia concludes.