Carlos Alcaraz has been eyeing to beat Jannik Sinner and Novak Djokovic for the end-of-season world No. 1 ranking.
The Spaniard returns to action this week at the Cincinnati Open (Western & Southern Open) having won 20 of his last 22 matches, including losses to Jack Draper at Queen’s Club and Novak Djokovic in the Olympic final.
The former world number one has also won the last two Grand Slam titles he has played and if he also wins the US Open, he will become the first man other than Djokovic to win three Grand Slam titles in the same season since Rafael Nadal in 2010.
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Although the Spaniard’s main focus is not on the prize money, but on the ranking points. He is currently ranked No. 3 in the world but could move closer to No. 2 this week if he wins the Cincinnati Open, where defending champion Djokovic will not be competing. He was runner-up at the Masters 1000 event 12 months ago.
“Of course being number one is the target every time I’m behind and the competition is important for me,” Alcaraz said.
“So I’m really focused on that. I’m focused when I go into every tournament, thinking about playing impressive tennis, getting positive results just to improve in the competition, and this season, finishing the year as world number one is one of my main targets right now. So, I’m looking forward to doing that and we’ll see.”
The Spaniard previously held the season-ending world No. 1 ranking in 2022, when he became the youngest player in history to achieve the feat. But he has not held the ranking since September 10, 2023.
“I am fighting for the world No. 1 ranking, that is something I really want to do as soon as possible, if I can do it in the future,” Carlos Alcaraz added.
“It is a really important tournament, a really good tournament for me. So I will try to play impressive tennis, try to play at the same level.”
Alcaraz is scheduled to play either Gael Monfils or Alexei Popyrin in the Cincinnati Open opener.
