Spain’s Carlos Alcaraz says there are no weaknesses in the game of Novak Djokovic but he is eager to reclaim the world No.1 ranking.
The 19-year-old is set to play his first match of the season on Wednesday at the Argentina Open in Buenos Aires. He was forced to miss the entire Australian swing of the Tour last month due to a leg injury that he picked up during the off-season. Prior to that, he also had to cut short his breakthrough 2022 season due to an abdominal issue. Last year Alcaraz won two Masters 1000 titles, claimed his first Grand Slam title at the US Open and became the youngest ATP No.1 in history.
Alcaraz’s injury opened the door for Djokovic to reclaim the top spot following his triumph at the Australian Open where he drew level with Rafael Nadal for most major titles won by a male player at 22 each. The Serbian, who is almost 16 years older than Alcaraz, is currently on a 12-match winning streak this season.
“He has no weaknesses. Every shot, it’s amazing,” Alcaraz said of Djokovic during an interview with atptour.com. “His physical condition is amazing; his mental condition is amazing. He’s like a God, and I admire him over the years staying at the same level, staying at the top. It’s really, really difficult, and I admire that.”
It is hard to predict how the battle for the top spot will unfold given the uncertainty surrounding Djokovic’s appearance in both Indian Wells and Miami. He has submitted a request to American authorities to be allowed into the country despite not being vaccinated against COVID-19. America has confirmed that it will end its public health emergency plan which has been in use for three years to curb the spread of the virus. However, it will not end until May 11th.
“It has been a long time (I spent) at No 1. Now it’s a goal for me to recover No 1 and try to do my best in these tournaments to be back on that number. I’m looking for that,” Alcaraz commented.
Alcaraz has already held the No.1 spot for 20 weeks which is a longer period than Daniil Medvedev, Andy Roddick and Boris Becker. Although he has a long way to go to beat Djokovic’s record which currently stands at 376 weeks.
In Argentina, Alcaraz will begin his campaign against Dusan Lajovic who has already won two matches in qualifying before knocking out sixth seed Sebastian Baez in the first round.
