Carlos Alcaraz reveals his main goals and opens up about ‘crazy’ battle with Novak Djokovic
The No 1 spot in the ATP Rankings will once again be up for grabs at the Cincinnati Open and Carlos Alcaraz admits he “likes those battles” with Novak Djokovic.
The No 1 ranking has already changed hands six times this year as Alcaraz started the 2023 campaign at the top, but he has played musical chairs with Djokovic over the past eight months.
The Spaniard is currently in his seventh spell at the top and he has a 600-point lead over Djokovic heading into the ATP Masters 1000 event in Ohio.
That 600-point lead is effectively 420 points as he has 180 points to defend in Cincinnati this week while Djokovic heads to the event with a clean slate as he didn’t play last year.
Alcaraz can secure the top spot in the ATP Rankings ahead of the US Open by reaching the final, although an early loss for Djokovic could make his life easier.
“I like those battles. I like to know that I can lose, and I can recover it at the same time,” the Spaniard said. “Of course, you have to enjoy when the battle is against one of the legends from our sport, against Novak.
“I feel that I’m [the] main opponent for him. For me, it’s something crazy, and I’m trying to enjoy [it].”
While Djokovic has admitted that winning Grand Slams is his top priority, Alcaraz is still very much a man on a mission in terms of the world No 1 ranking as it is high on his to-do list.
“You have to put goals to yourself during the season, in every tournament,” the two-time Grand Slam winner said. “And for me right now the main goal is to stay in the top spot and if I lose it, try to recover it as fast as I can. It’s something that helped me a lot to show my best level in the big tournaments.”
The Cincinnati Open will be Alcaraz’s second event following his Wimbledon win. He reached the quarter-final at the Canadian Open last week, losing against Tommy Paul.
The 20-year-old is determined to improve after his performance in Toronto.
“It wasn’t a good week for me, but [I have] a lot of things to improve coming into this tournament. Looking back to last year, [I lost in the] first round [in Canada] and then [the] quarter-finals [in Cincinnati], and then I won the US Open,” he said.
“I have to overcome that week that I had in Toronto, try to play better here and try to do better the things that I did bad in Toronto.”
He added: “A lot of things changed since last year. I think the tournament grew up a lot, and this is my first day here.
“My first practice I had this morning, so I enjoyed this practice. All the fans were there enjoying the practice as well. So far I’m enjoying my time here in Cincinnati.”
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