Alcaraz Feels Like He 'Lost A Lot Of Opportunities' To Become World No. 1
ATP
Carlos Alcaraz suffered a surprising loss to Grigor Dimitrov at the 2023 Shanghai Masters, which will make his return to number one quite a bit different.
Carlos Alcaraz explained earlier this year that he wants to finish the year as number one on the ATP Tour, which would mean that he overtook Novak Djokovic, who is currently the number one.
Toward that goal, Alcaraz mentioned Djokovic's absence from the tournaments in Asia as a very good development for him, but he didn't really use it to his advantage.
He was beaten by Jannik Sinner in Beijing last week, which was a painful loss, and now this one to Dimitrov is another one that he could have avoided. It's left him quite disappointed because it severely diminishes his chances of completing his objective. He admitted as much after the match.
Well, this loss I needed to be a little bit farther. It's going to be tougher, if I want to be No. 1. I have a few tournaments ahead, so I'll try to do my best. I'll try to, you know, win them, if I want to have a chance to end the year as No. 1. I don't know, but right now I lose lot of opportunities to make it.- Alcaraz on becoming world number one
It was a tough match overall, but Alcaraz had chances to finish it. He took the opening set but then lost the next two and praised Dimitrov for his efforts after the match. That was nice from Alcaraz, who tries to remain classy in defeat, no matter how painful it was for him.
Well, I think he plays great. He plays a great match since the beginning until the last ball, not up and downs in his game. Comparing to the matches that we have played before, you know, he was on another level today. So, congratulations to him, and, you know, I have to be better if I want to beat this Grigor.- Alcaraz on losing to Dimitrov
