NEW DELHI: After a remarkable season that saw him clinch back-to-back Grand Slam titles and secure a silver medal at the Paris Olympics, 21-year-old Carlos Alcaraz is now setting his sights on a new target: finishing the year as the top-ranked player in the world.
As he gears up for the Cincinnati Open, Alcaraz enters the tournament just 450 points behind Italy's Jannik Sinner in the ATP Live Race To Turin, positioning him tantalisingly close to his goal of ending the year as the No. 1 player.
"Obviously, being No. 1 is a goal every time that I am [behind] and the race is an important ranking for me. 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, " Alcaraz said to ATP.
"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, and 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, " he added.
With 20 wins out of his last 22 matches, Alcaraz is in scorching form, having defeated nine of the ten Top 20 players he has faced during this stretch. Yet, the Spaniard remains grounded, acknowledging that not all of these victories were achieved while playing his best tennis.
"Probably most of the matches I won, I won them without playing great tennis. But the way that I approach every match, I stay there strong mentally in some situations, and I'm really, really happy about that, " Alcaraz admitted.
One of the defining moments of Alcaraz’s season came during the Paris Olympics, where he battled his way to the final only to lose in a heartbreaking gold-medal match to Novak Djokovic. Needing time to regroup, he took a brief holiday with his brother and close friends, stepping away from the sport to clear his mind.
"I just needed a few days without thinking about tennis, " he reflected. Upon his return to the practice courts in Cincinnati, Alcaraz felt recharged and ready to continue his pursuit of the No. 1 ranking.
As the second seed at the Cincinnati Open, Alcaraz is set to face either Gael Monfils or Alexei Popyrin in his opening match.
"I'm excited to play here again. I'm really happy to be back. Obviously, great memories from last year. This is a tournament that I love playing, and yeah, excited to start the tournament, " he said.