Alcaraz Says 'No. 1 Spot Is One Of The Main Goals' Ahead Of Beijing Debut

| by Nurein Ahmed

Carlos Alcaraz has a message for Novak Djokovic ahead of his debut appearance at the China Open - he is looking to recover the deficit in the ATP rankings.

Alcaraz lost the No. 1 ranking to Djokovic at the start of the US Open, as the world's top two swapped places for the seventh time this season. Djokovic was not defending any points during the tournament in New York and he stood to gain over Alcaraz.

Defeat in the semifinals to Daniil Medvedev proved costly for the 20-year-old who saw Djokovic go all the way to win a record-tying 24th Grand Slam. The 36-year-old Serb not only reclaimed the No. 1 ranking, but did so with supreme dominance and authority, establishing a monstrous 3,260-point lead.

With less than two months of the season remaining, Alcaraz is running out of time, and he'll need to activate the DRS for the final lap in order to overturn the seemingly insurmountable gap. How he will do it is very straightforward - take maximum points during the Asian swing where Djokovic won't be participating this season.

Djokovic Set To Lose Part Of His Lead Over Alcaraz After Skipping Asian Swing
Djokovic Set To Lose Part Of His Lead Over Alcaraz After Skipping Asian Swing

One of his season's objectives is to get back to the summit. And as he prepares to step on the courts of the Beijing National Tennis Centre for the first time this week, Alcaraz spoke of his ambitions to close that gap on Djokovic at the Beijing-Shanghai doubleheader.

"As I said a few times, we have a really beautiful battle for the No. 1 spot after the great performance Djokovic had in the American season. He's the No. 1 right now. I'm coming here with extra motivation to try to recover it in the Race, of course, in the ranking. As I said, it's something that I have in my mind every time that I practise, in every tournament."

"It's not obligatory for me to recover that, but of course you have to put the goals in the year. So for me No. 1 spot is one of the main goals for me. In these great tournaments, I'm looking to do great to be able to be close or recover that number."


Alcaraz can reduce that 3,260 points deficit by half if he triumphs in Beijing and Shanghai. And if he completes a clean sweep at the Swiss Indoors in Basel, Djokovic's lead will reduce to three digits at the start of the Paris Masters - the final 1000-level event of the season.

Carlos Alcaraz Finally Discovers First-Round Opponent At China Open In Beijing
Carlos Alcaraz Finally Discovers First-Round Opponent At China Open In Beijing

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