'Almost In Every Practice, I'm Not Going To Lie': Alcaraz On Thinking About Rival Djokovic

| by Sebastian Dahlman

In a recent talk with Tennis TV, Carlos Alcaraz admitted that he thinks about Novak Djokovic a lot during his practice.

The Spaniard battled Djokovic a few times this year, and while we didn't see as many matches as we had hoped, there is a chance that we see a few more until the end of the year. Djokovic bested him at Roland Garros and Cincinnati, but the Spaniard got a win over the Serbian at Wimbledon.

They're likely to face each other a few times until the end of the year, most notably at the ATP Finals, where both are set to compete. The stakes are high, trophies to be won, but not only that. Alcaraz would like to finish the second year in a row as the world number one, which is his stated goal.

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To get there, Alcaraz will need some good results, and he had one recently at the China Open, even though he narrowly missed out on the final by getting beaten by Jannik Sinner in the semi-final. The Shanghai Masters is one of two big events remaining on the calendar. Doing well here is paramount.

Some of that will also depend on Novak Djokovic, and according to the Spaniard, Djokovic is on his mind, especially during practice. He admitted it in an interview with Tennis TV.

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Almost in every practice. I'm not going to lie. I practice with a goal. I go to tournaments with a goal. Trying to end the year as number one. So Novak Djokovic is around my mind almost in every practice.

Alcaraz on Novak Djokovic

Djokovic skipping over some big events certainly boosts his chances to secure year-end number one but we'll see whether he will produce the necessary results to get there. He's motivated so that's a good thing.

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