CARLOS Alcaraz is enjoying his best form, winning Roland Garros and Wimbledon, as well as the men’s singles silver medal at the 2024 Paris Olympics, but remains focused on chasing the ATP number one ranking later this year.
The 21-year-old enters the Cincinnati Open just 450 points behind Jannik Sinner in the ATP Live Race To Turin rankings, which is the barometer for the year-end No. 1 ranking.
“At the end of the year, if you finish the race ranked 1, the rankings are pretty close, so you’re going to finish the race ranked 1,” Alcaraz was quoted as saying by BetweenMonday (12/8).
“I’m focused on going to every tournament, playing the best tennis I can, getting good results to get better in that race, and ending the year as No. 1 is one of my main goals.”
For most of the first half of the season, Sinner was in prime position to become the first Italian year-end number one in tennis history.
However, after back-to-back Grand Slam triumphs, Alcaraz is eyeing the position the 22-year-old currently occupies.
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“I’m trying hard to be number one,” Alcaraz said. “I’m going to try to play good tennis, try to play the same level as I play.”
Alcaraz has won 20 of his last 22 matches since the start of Roland Garros. He has wins against nine of the Top 20 players.
After losing the gold medal match at the Paris Olympics to Novak Djokovic, Alcaraz went on holiday with one of his brothers and two close friends.
He said he only touched a racket again on Sunday (11/8) while practicing in Cincinnati. The second seed will face Gael Monfils or Alexei Popyrin in his opening match.
“I’m excited to play here again. I’m really happy to be back,” Alcaraz said. “This is a tournament that I love and yeah, I’m excited to start this tournament.” (Z-6)
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