Carlos Alcaraz admits Novak Djokovic DESERVES to be the World No. 1 this year having choked on his own
Alcaraz vows to reclaim the No. 1 ranking next year after failing to do so this season.
Novak Djokovic and Carlos Alcaraz(Image via: FirstSportz)
Spanish tennis sensation Carlos Alcaraz has had a pretty impressive run this season. The 20-year-old clinched his second Grand Slam major at Wimbledon earlier this year, beating Novak Djokovic in the finals.
The player, however, who had been leading the ATP rankings since September 2022, lost his #1 ranking to Djokovic after the 36-year-old claimed the title at Flushing Meadows.
Alcaraz had vowed to reclaim his spot as No. 1 from Djokovic a few months ago. While Novak Djokovic went on to claim the title at the Masters event in Paris, Alcaraz failed to reach the finals at both the Opens in Beijing and Shanghai. At the Paris Masters event, Alcaraz suffered a loss in the opening round in straight sets against Roman Safiullin.
With Djokovic having claimed his eighth World No. 1 title recently, both Alcaraz and Djokovic are expected to clash at the ongoing Nitto ATP Finals in Turin, Italy. In a press conference, Alcaraz stated that the US Open winner does actually deserve the #1 rank. He said:
He deserves it, of course. He has won three of the four Grand Slams & has reached the final of the other. You have won two or three Masters 1000s. He deserves it.
The Spaniard further went on to expound on how winning 3 of the 4 Grand Slams in a season and reaching the finals of the other one is a big feat.
With Djokovic having claimed his eighth World No. 1 title recently, both Alcaraz and Djokovic are expected to clash at the ongoing Nitto ATP Finals in Turin, Italy. While the Serb won his first match at the event, beating Holger Rune in a three-setter, Alcaraz lost his opening-round match against Germany’s Alexander Zverev. He will prepare to face Russian second seed Andrey Rublev next.
Carlos Alcaraz plans to reclaim the #1 ranking next year after a futile attempt this season
World No.2, Carlos Alcaraz is playing in Turin at the season-ending ATP Finals. Though the 20-year-old, who had vowed to reclaim the No.1 spot from Novak Djokovic on the ATP rankings list failed at his quest, Alcaraz has vowed to do so in the next season.
While Alcaraz commended Djokovic’s eighth-year-ending World No. 1 title, he also shed light on why he thought the 36-year-old deserved the honor.
He's only lost five matches in the whole year, it's amazing. And I heard that, despite everything, it was not his best year. Tremendous.
He further went on to express regret at his failed chances to covert his points and spring back to being #1. He expressed hopes of taking on Djokovic in the upcoming year.
In case you missed:
- WATCH: Novak Djokovic presented with his historic 8th year-end World No. 1 trophy
- Carlos Alcaraz questions the speed of the ATP Finals 2023 courts after losing against Alexander Zverev
Eeshita Dev
(231 Articles Published)