Carlos Alcaraz reveals ‘main goal’ for the remainder of 2024
Carlos Alcaraz has outlined his goal to return to World No.1 by the end of the year, as he chases down rival Jannik Sinner in the second half of the 2024 season.
Alcaraz returns to action this week at the Cincinnati Masters, where he was runner-up last year, in his first tournament since losing the Olympic final to Novak Djokovic.
The Spaniard currently sits at World No.3, 820 ranking points behind No.1 Sinner and 510 points behind No.2 Djokovic.
However, it appears that Alcaraz is paying more attention to ‘the race’, which only accounts for ranking points earned in 2024, with the top eight players of the year qualifying for the ATP Finals in Turin that take place in November.
“Obviously being No.1 is a goal every time that I am [behind] and the race is an important ranking for me,” explained Alcaraz. “At the end of the year, if you end the race No.1, in the rankings [it is] quite similar, so you’re going to end the No.1. So I’m really focused on that.
“I’m focused on going to every tournament, thinking about playing great tennis, doing a good result just to get better in the race. This year, ending the year as No.1 is one of my main goals right now. So I’m looking forward to doing it and let’s see.”
In terms of the current standings in the ATP race, Alcaraz is currently at No.2 and only 450 points behind Australian Open champion Sinner.
And Alcaraz could potentially overtake the Italian with another successful run in Cincinnati, “I’m fighting for being No.1 in the race, that’s something that I really want to to do as soon as possible, if I could do it in the future.
“This one is a really important tournament, really good tournament for me. So I’m going to try to play good tennis, try to play same level as I was playing, and let’s see.”
Alcaraz will begin his Cincinnati campaign in the second round, after receiving a bye as the second seed, against either Gael Monfils or Montreal finalist Alexei Popyrin.
cabeza, corazón and centerfold#CincyTennis | @carlosalcaraz pic.twitter.com/Kve19jhrY3
— Cincinnati Open (@CincyTennis) August 11, 2024
Inside the baseline…
Jannik Sinner began the 2024 season like a train, winning his first 16 matches before meeting Carlos Alcaraz in the Indian Wells semi-final. However, in the last couple of months it has felt like Alcaraz has closed the gap a little and has felt more like the world No.1, winning both Roland Garros and Wimbledon. Both players are all but qualified for the ATP Finals, and it will be interesting to see if Sinner can swing the momentum back his way during the US Open hard court season.
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