Reigning US Open champion Carlos Alcaraz is not thinking of a projected final match between himself and Novak Djokovic and will focus only on his next match.
Before the draw was released on Thursday, it was clear that Alcaraz and Djokovic, the world's top two players, would be spearheading the two halves of the draw, leaving tennis fans dreading a rematch of their epics at Wimbledon and in the Cincinnati finals.
Alcaraz stated his ambitions are to try and win every Slam he is competing in, but is not getting carried away by the noise from fans and the media who are unequivocally hyping up a potential final in the world's biggest tennis Stadium.
Alcaraz and Djokovic have served up some thrilling battles in their rivalry. Currently tied at 2-2, it is Djokovic who appears to have an upper hand coming to New York, having bagged the Cincinnati title last Sunday right from Alcaraz's grasp. While the Spaniard maintains he wants to defend his crown, he warned of the dangers each round promises, more so against players with nothing to lose.
"Every slam I go to I try to win it. I have very good memories of last year, so let's go for it. Every player here, every match is tough. every player can beat you."
"Mentally, we're going to try to forget that I'm defending the title, we're just going to focus match by match, show our best level in each match and see if at the end of it all I play at my best level and can get the second title here."
Alcaraz was speaking to AFP during the official contract renewal with racket sponsor Babolat. He will play his first-round match on Tuesday against Germany's World No. 78 Dominik Koepfer. Alcaraz took part in the Stars of the Open on Thursday, an exhibition event organized by the USTA to support Ukrainian humanitarian aid.
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