On January 7, Alcaraz confirmed his withdrawal from the Australian Open owing to a hamstring injury sustained in his right leg during training.[80] Following the event, he lost the world number one status to champion Novak Djokovic.[81] He’d been at the top for 20 weeks.
Alcaraz defeated second seed Cameron Norrie to win his seventh championship in the Argentina Open in his first tournament of the 2023 season during the Golden Swing in South America.[82] Defending his championship in the Rio Open, he reached back-to-back finals, where he faced Norrie again but lost in three sets.[83] Alcaraz was also slated to participate in Acapulco during the month of February, but withdrew ahead to the competition after suffering another Hamstring injury. [84]
He won his 100th career match in the Indian Wells Open, defeating 31st seed Tallon Griekspoor to go to the fourth round, becoming the second fastest player to reach this milestone after John McEnroe and faster than the Big 3.[85][44] After reaching the semifinals, Alcaraz upset 11th seed Jannik Sinner in straight sets in a highly anticipated showdown.[86][87] He defeated fifth seed Daniil Medvedev in the final to earn his eighth career championship and third Masters 1000 title, ending Medvedev’s 19-match winning streak and became the first player to win the tournament without dropping a set since Roger Federer in 2017. He also became the ninth and youngest player to win both legs of the Sunshine Double. As a result, he returned to the top of the global rankings.1 on March 20, 2023.[88] In Miami, Alcaraz, the reigning champion, advanced to the semifinals without dropping a set, defeating Facundo Bagnis, Dušan Lajović, 16th seed Tommy Paul, and ninth seed Taylor Fritz. This time, he fell against Jannik Sinner in three sets.[89] He slipped to second place in the standings after failing to defend his title points from the previous year.[90]
Alcaraz had planned to participate at the Monte-Carlo Masters the following week, but he had to withdraw due to post-traumatic arthritis in his left hand and muscle stiffness in his back.[91] He began his European clay court campaign in the Barcelona Open, defeating Stefanos Tsitsipas in the final and defending his championship without dropping a set.[92] He won his 10th career title at the Madrid Open, the defending champion defeated fortunate loser Jan-Lennard Struff.[93] At the next clay court tournament, the Rome Masters, Alcaraz won the potential to dethrone Novak Djokovic in the No. 1 ranking by just playing his second round match. However, in the third round, he was defeated in straight sets by world No. 135 Fabian Marozsan, in what Jon Wertheim described as the year’s biggest upset.[94][95]
Alcaraz reached the semifinals of the 2023 French Open. He lost against Novak Djokovic in four sets in a highly anticipated match, after having cramping at the start of the third. Despite rotating as the world’s number one, Alcaraz and Djokovic hadn’t faced each other in almost a year despite fluctuating between the world No. 1 status throughout 2023, Alcaraz subsequently claimed that the anxiety of the occasion contributed to his cramps. Djokovic reclaimed the No. 1 position from Alcaraz after winning the event.[96][97]
Alcaraz holds the Gentlemen’s Singles Challenge Cup after winning the 2023 Wimbledon Championships.
At the Queen’s Club Championships, he won his first grass court championship in only his third professional competition, defeating Alex de Minaur in the final. The triumph in London also sent him back to the top of the international standings.[98] At the 2023 Wimbledon Championships, he reached the final as the first seed, defeating Jérémy Chardy, Alexandre Müller, Nicolas Jarry, Matteo Berrettini, Holger Rune, and Daniil In a historic encounter, Alcaraz upset Novak Djokovic in five sets, breaking Djokovic’s streak of five straight titles and gaining the top position. With this victory, Alcaraz became the second player after Andy Murray to upset Djokovic in a Wimbledon final.[99] In addition, Alcaraz became the first non-“Big 4” player to win Wimbledon since Lleyton Hewitt in 2002.[100]
After losing to Tommy Paul in the Toronto quarterfinals,[101] Alcaraz went on to lose to Djokovic in a repeat of their Wimbledon final in Cincinnati. He fell in three sets, after holding a championship point in the second-set tiebreak. It was the longest-ever best-of-three-sets ATP Masters final and the longest match in tournament history, lasting 3 hours and 49 minutes; Djokovic described it as “one of the toughest matches of [his] life.”[102][103] Alcaraz reached the semifinals of the 2023 US Open, where he was trying to defend his grand slam championship, after dropping only one set. He did, however, lose in four sets against Daniil Medvedev, the 2021 winner.[104] Following the competition, Alcaraz fell to second place in the rankings behind Novak Djokovic was not defending any points.[105] He also withdrew from the Davis Cup Finals, claiming fatigue.[106]
Alcaraz began the year-end indoor hardcourt season with the intention of achieving the No. 1 position.[107][108] However, during the Asian swing, he fell to Jannik Sinner in the semifinals in Beijing for the second time this season, and then to Grigor Dimitrov in the round of 16 in Shanghai.[109][110] He then withdrew from Basel owing to injury,[111] and lost in the first round of the Paris-Bercy Masters against Roman Safiullin.[112] Alcaraz advanced to the semifinals of the ATP Finals in Turin, defeating Andrey Rublev and Daniil Medvedev before falling to Alexander Zverev in the round-robin round. Novak Djokovic, the eventual winner, would defeat him in straight sets For the third time this season.[113] Alcaraz eventually finished the season as the world’s second-ranked player.[114]
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