Carlos Alcaraz celebrated “being almost at the door” of becoming the top-ranked tennis player in the world again after defending his Madrid Open title on Sunday.

The Spaniard earned his 10th career title with a hard-fought 6-4, 3-6, 6-3 win over Jan-Lennard Struff and can reclaim the world number one ranking from Novak Djokovic simply by playing a single match at the Rome Masters next week, before the French Open.

Currently ranked second, Alcaraz spent 20 weeks in the top spot after his US Open triumph in September, becoming the youngest player to reach world number one.

Djokovic’s Australian Open triumph saw him depose Alcaraz but the 20-year-old confirmed he would play next week in the Italian capital.

Read full story on www.sportsdesk.com.mt

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