Carlos Alcaraz is undoubtedly the player to beat on the ATP Tour right now, having just won the Australian Open.
Alcaraz completed the career Grand Slam with his success in Melbourne, having won each of the other three majors twice.
Following his superb Australian Open run, Alcaraz took a brief break from tennis, and decided to skip the Rotterdam Open.
The world number one is set to return to action at the Qatar Open, where Alcaraz will be chasing a 26th career ATP title.
Alcaraz will need to avoid major upsets at the tournament should he go all the way, which won’t be easy given that his Australian Open title has put a target on his back.
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ATP no. 337 Alexander Erler beat Carlos Alcaraz at the 2021 Austrian Open Kitzbuhel
It will, however, take a monumental effort for Alcaraz’s biggest career shock to be surpassed in Doha later this month.
Alexander Erler represents the lowest-ranked player to beat Alcaraz, doing so on the outdoor clay of Kitzbuhel in 2021.
Then-ranked 55th in the world, Alcaraz was the 10th seed at that year’s Austrian Open Kitzbuhel, where he suffered a shock first round defeat to Erler.
The Austrian was ranked 337th in the world at the time, and produced a stunning effort as a wildcard to win their match 7-5, 1-6, 6-2.
Erler failed to repeat his heroics in his next match against Mikael Ymer, who then lost in the quarterfinals to eventual champion Casper Ruud.
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The ATP 250 tournament had an exciting field, with Alcaraz and Ruud joined by the likes of Holger Rune and Arthur Rinderknech.
But Erler produced one of the biggest talking points by beating the future world number one, which remains their only meeting on the ATP Tour to date.
In fact, it remarkably represents his only career singles victory, with his record in that format currently standing at 1-1.
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The Austrian is instead a doubles specialist, boasting nine titles and over 100 wins, once climbing to 32nd in the world rankings.
One of those titles arrived at the same tournament as his memorable defeat of Alcaraz, with Erler clinching 2021 Austrian Open Kitzbuhel doubles success with compatriot Lucas Miedler.
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