Carlos Alcaraz has described the ongoing rivalry between him and Novak Djokovic for the world No.1 position as a ‘beautiful fight.”
The 20-year-old is on the verge of returning to the top spot following his straight-sets win over Seb Korda in the semi-finals of the Cinch Championships. Alcaraz will return to the top on Monday should he defeat Australia’s Alex de Minaur in the final which will take place on Sunday afternoon. Should he triumph, it would also be his first-ever pro title on the grass in what is only his third appearance on the surface.
“It’s an extra motivation for me,” Alcaraz commented on the No.1 race. “During the match, I’m not thinking about that but is an extra motivation for me to go into the final with extra energy. I’m gonna go for it.”
There is also an added incentive for the Spaniard at Queen’s. Should he claim the title, he would also become the top seed at this year’s Wimbledon Championships. In the Open Era, Rafael Nadal is the only Spanish man to have been the top seed at The All England Club.
“Being the top seed at Wimbledon, being No. 1, for me, it’s still a dream.” He said.
“I think Novak and I, we are having a beautiful fight for the No. 1. I’m gonna go for it. It would be crazy for me to be the top seed in Wimbledon.”
Alcaraz has already spent 25 weeks at the top of the ATP standings which is a longer period than Mats Wilander (20 weeks), Daniil Medvedev (16 weeks) and Andy Roddick (13 weeks). In 2022 he became the youngest-ever year-end No.1 in the history of the ATP Pepperstone rankings.
Besides his ongoing battle with Djokovic, the reigning US Open champion is rapidly finding his footing on the grass. At Queen’s, he has dropped one set in four matches played which was in the first round against Arthur Rinderkech. He has also defeated former Wimbledon semi-finalist Grigor Dimitrov and Jiri Lehecka.
“I think I’m moving well on the grass right now. I started the week with doubts about movement, about hitting the ball.” He reflected.
“Right now I feel like I have been playing on grass for many years. It’s something that I came here (to Queen’s) to learn. To feel great movement and to feel great hitting the ball.”
“Right now I’m a good player on grass,” he added.
Should Alcaraz win Queen’s, he would become the 17th active player to have won a Tour title on all three surfaces.
