Carlos Alcaraz has admitted his surprise at his rapid rise up the ATP rankings as he reaches the Hamburg quarter-finals.
The Spaniard is into the last eight at the ATP 500 event in Germany after a 7-6(4) 6-3 victory over Filip Krajinovic.
After going down an early break, Alcaraz recomposed himself to break four times as he sealed a straight sets win.
The Spaniard is now the top seed in Hamburg and could make his top five debut with a title this week.
When speaking to Puntodebreak Alcaraz admitted he was a little surprised about his rapid rise up the ATP rankings, “The truth is that a little, yes,” Alcaraz said in the topic.
“I have had surprising results this year, I did not expect to evolve as fast as I did, but I work for it.
“As I always say, hard work pays off, although in my case it was all a bit quick and surprising. I try to keep learning, keep adding experiences and always try to give my best version in each game.
“I feel that I play for myself, for my team and my family, I don’t focus on the expectations that people may have. I just push it away.”
Alcaraz is in a good position to reach the Nitto ATP Finals this year having won a masters 1000 event in Madrid earlier in the year where he beat Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic in the same tournament.
The 19 year-old is currently third in the Race To Turin and admitted it’s a goal of his to be in Italy in November “It would be a good goal, but right now my thoughts are not on the ranking, but on reaching the ATP Finals in Turin at the end of the season,” Alcaraz said.
“For me, the ranking isn’t the most important thing right now, although I’m fighting to continue winning games and winning tournaments, as that is what will lead me to continue climbing.”
Alcaraz will now face seventh seed Karen Khachanov in the last eight in Germany where the Spaniard leads the head-to-head 1-0.