Carlos Alcaraz is closing in on a return to No 2 in the ATP Rankings after cruising past Tallon Griekspoor at the China Open.

The Spaniard brushed the Dutchman 6-1, 6-2 aside in the second round of the ATP 500 event to secure his 200th tour-level victory – just four years after he made his ATP Tour main draw debut.

The 21-year-old is only the third player born in the 2000s to achieve the accomplishments with the 23-year-old Jannik Sinner and the 24-year-old Felix Auger-Aliassime the other two to notch up the milestone.

“I’m really happy about it – 200 wins is a great number,” the four-time Grand Slam winner said. “But I am already looking for the third hundred. I just want to keep going, to keep rolling. I am looking forward to playing matches and to keep doing the things that I am doing.”

The win helped Alcaraz to move within touching distance of second-placed Alexander Zverev in the rankings and he will usurp the German if he wins his next match.

Sinner is well clear at No 1 with 10,780 points in the Live Rankings with Zverev – who missed the Beijing event due to illness – on 6,705 points and Alcaraz another 95 points adrift.

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The reigning French Open and Wimbledon champion – who is now 45-9 for the 2024 season – will face seventh seed Karen Khachanov for a place in the semi-final. Victory will see him move to 6,710 points while he will jump to 7,010 points if he wins the title.

Alcaraz had enjoyed a poor run of form since finishing runner-up to Novak Djokovic at the 2024 Paris Olympics as he lost in the second round of the Cincinnati Open and the US Open.

But the confidence seems to be returning as last week he helped Team Europe to regain the Laver Cup.

“I feel comfortable playing in Beijing, I think the conditions suit my style and my game very well. I just want to keep progressing, and I believe I played a very good and solid match today, I felt very comfortable,” he said.

“Hopefully, in the next round, I’ll feel even better or as good as today. It’s been a long time since I played a final and I’m eager to do it again.

“Obviously, in every tournament I go to, I try to play my best tennis to reach the final or win. In the last two tournaments, I didn’t do it, I didn’t feel as good as I would have liked. Right now, I feel prepared and I feel good, I feel my tennis is back. Every match is tough, but I feel ready to keep playing good tennis and achieve great results here and in Shanghai.”