Carlos Alcaraz says ‘beautiful fight’ for No 1 ranking is ‘extra motivation’
Carlos Alcaraz has revealed his battle with Novak Djokovic for the No 1 ranking gives him “extra motivation” ahead of the Queen’s Club Championships final.
The Spaniard, who currently sits second in the ATP Rankings, can reclaim top spot from his Serbian rival with victory at the ATP 500 tournament. Djokovic overtook Alcaraz to become world No 1 after winning the French Open earlier this month.
Alcaraz will face world No 18 Alex De Minaur in the final at Queen’s Club on Sunday in his maiden appearance in a grass-court title match.
The 20-year-old edged the pair’s only previous encounter in the semi-finals of the Barcelona Open last year. He prevailed in three sets in over three hours and 40 minutes after saving two match points.
Speaking after his 6-3, 6-4 semi-final win over Sebastian Korda at Queen’s, Alcaraz discussed the prospect of returning to the top of the rankings.
“Well, no, it help me a lot. You know, it’s an extra motivation for me. Obviously during the match I’m not thinking about that, but [it] is an extra motivation for me, to go into the final with extra energy,” Alcaraz said.
“I’m gonna go for it. Obviously being top seed at Wimbledon, being No 1, for me, it’s still a dream. Yeah, is something that I work on. You know, to recover the No 1.
“I think Novak and I, we are having a beautiful fight for the No 1. Yeah, I’m gonna go for it. Yeah, it’s been crazy for me to be top seed in Wimbledon.”
The Spaniard also spoke about the challenge of facing De Minaur in the grass court final and claimed he sees himself as an underdog.
“Well, I have seen Alex for a long time. You know, I think he shared a lot of tournaments with my older brother. They played when they were
younger. So I know Alex really well,” he explained.
“Obviously the match that we played in Barcelona was really tough. I saved match point and with a crazy passing shot. I know that the level of Alex, he’s playing great. He has beaten Rune that, he’s a great player, in the semi-final. He has a game that suits really well on grass.
“So as I said, it’s going to be a really tough final. I’m gonna say he’s the favourite with the level that he’s playing right now. All I can say is I’m gonna enjoy. I’m gonna enjoy my first final on grass, and let’s see what happens.”
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