Carlos Alcaraz has stated that he believes
Novak Djokovic deserves to be year-end No. 1 but has also shared his determination to fight him for the top spot in 2024.
The Spaniard battled with Djokovic for World No. 1 throughout this season on the
ATP Tour. Alcaraz rose to the top spot in the
ATP ranking for the first time in September 2022 but Djokovic won it back at the end of January. After this, they went back and forth until September 2023 when the Serbian player won his 24th Grand Slam title at the US Open, thus re-claiming the top spot from Alcaraz once again.
Following this, Alcaraz made it clear that his goal over the autumn was to try and overtake Djokovic before the end of the year: "I think [about Djokovic] almost in every practice, I am not going to lie. I train with a goal. I go to the tournaments with a goal. To try to end the year as No. 1," he said ahead of the Shanghai Masters in October.
Alcaraz praises Djokovic's "amazing" year
However, after the 20-year-old failed to win any tournaments on the Asian Swing, and suffered a first-round exit at the Paris Masters while Djokovic went on to win the event, Alcaraz accepted that there was "no chance" of him overtaking the 36-year-old before the end of 2023.
Both players are currently competing at the 2023 Nitto
ATP Finals in Turin, where Alcaraz praised Djokovic for his hugely successful season, during which the latter won three out of four Grand Slam titles: "He deserves it, of course. He has won three of the four Grand Slams and has reached the final of the other. You have won two or three Masters 1000s," Alcaraz said.
Nevertheless, the World No. 2 made it clear that he plans to continue their rivalry next year: "He deserves it. He's only lost five matches in the whole year, it's amazing. And I heard that, despite everything, it was not his best year. Tremendous. I had my chances to be #1, but I couldn't convert them. All I can say is that he deserves it and that I will fight him next year."
Djokovic made it through a tough first match at the ATP Finals against Holger Rune in the Green Group, defeating the Danish player in three sets. Meanwhile, Alcaraz ended up on the losing side of a three-set clash with Alexander Zverev in the Red Group. Djokovic will face Jannik Sinner next, while Alcaraz will take on Andrey Rublev.
