Carlos
Alcaraz revealed his goal of reclaiming the world No. 1 ranking from Novak
Djokovic after the conclusion of the
US Open.
The Spanish
tennis player has already advanced past the first round at Flushing Meadows and
has successfully embarked on his mission to defend the title he achieved in
2022, when he secured his first Grand Slam by defeating Casper Ruud. He also
ensured his position as the world No. 1 for the first time in his career.
Alcaraz is
defending 2000 points in the upcoming weeks and has a narrow points gap with
Djokovic. Additionally, Djokovic did not compete in the 2022 edition, which
meant that it was known in advance that Djokovic only needed to step onto the
court in the first round to surpass Alcaraz by the end of the championship.
With the
defense of the world No. 1 ranking no longer his, Alcaraz is focusing on
playing at his best level:
“I was
excited to play my first round here in the US Open,” said Alcaraz.
“It was
great to step on the court again in the Arthur Ashe after such a great run last
year. I was excited to come back.”
“I’m not
thinking about the defending the title. I just focused on playing at my best
level, to recover the level that I played last year and try to do the same
things that I did last year. That’s the only thing that I’m thinking right
now.”
The
20-year-old acknowledged that he hopes to stay in the battle for the world No.
1 ranking and that returning to the top of the rankings is one of his
objectives.
“It’s a
goal for me. I said before that we are having a really good battle for the No.
1, Novak and I,” explained Alcaraz.
“I knew
that he was going to recover the No. 1 after the US Open.
“When the
tournament is over, I will try to recover as soon as possible. That’s my goal.
I am working for that. The season has a lot of tournaments until the year is
over. I’ll try to recover it before the before the year ends,” he added.