One thing bothering Carlos Alcaraz about Novak Djokovic

• Djokovic will be absent for the next month and Alcaraz is the tournament’s top seed in Beijing
• The Spaniard is fully aware that the break taken by his competitor can help him cut the gap
• He fell off the 2023 US Open in the semi-finals after a tight defeat to Daniil Medvedev

Carlos Alcaraz has admitted that defeating Novak Djokovic in their next tournament is the only thing he thinks of when training.

Alcaraz, 20, said he has unending thoughts about defeating Djokovic every time he trains or is at a match in an effort to surpass him for the No. 1 spot.

With 500 ranking points up for grabs in this week’s China Open, Alcaraz has a chance to overtake the Serb.

Djokovic will be absent for the next month and Alcaraz is the tournament’s top seed in Beijing. The Spaniard is fully aware that the break taken by his competitor can help him cut the gap in the fight to become world No. 1 before the season is up.

And he is ready to do all this in the forthcoming Asian swing.

Carlos Alcaraz at Cincinnati Open. Photo/Eurosport]

“As I have said a few times, we have a really beautiful battle to be No 1 in the world, especially after the great performance that Novak had on the last American tour…so of course it is a goal,” he says.

With Djokovic winning the US Open and returning to the top of the rankings, Alcaraz says he is more motivated than before.

He fell off the 2023 US Open in the semi-finals after a tight defeat to Daniil Medvedev who unsuccessfully faced off with Djokovic in the finals.

Djokovic’s victory in New York thrust him to the top of the charts which Alcaraz held on to for weeks before and after his 2023 Wimbledon victory.

Carlos Alcaraz tennis racket. Photo/Tennis.com

He defeated the Serbian in the Wimbledon finals to clinch his second Grand Slam. Nevertheless, his dethroning by Djokovic has taken him back to the drawing board and he feels challenged to do his best.

“Right now he is No 1, so I come here with extra motivation to try to get him back and place first in the race, as well as in the rankings. Like I said, it’s something that I keep in mind every time I’m training, I think about it in every tournament. It is not mandatory for me to recover it either, but we have to set goals for the year. For me, the No 1 position is one of my main objectives, so in these big tournaments I am going to go for it, to try to do well to be close and recover it,” Alcaraz adds according to Express Sport UK.

Alcaraz is marking his inaugural appearance at the China Open and is set to make his debut at the upcoming Shanghai Masters as the ATP Tour returns to its usual Asian circuit for the first time since 2019.

Depending on his performance in both events, the Spanish player has the potential to accumulate as many as 1,500 ranking points.