Carlos Alcaraz says reclaiming the No.1 spot will always be a goal of his regardless of what is happening to his rivals on the Tour.
The 21-year-old is currently more than 4000 points away from first-placed Jannik Sinner who has accepted a three-month ban related to two failed drugs tests last year. Sinner’s absence will open the door for both Alcaraz and world No.2 Alexander Zverev to close the gap. Although to have a chance of dethroning the Italian before this year’s French Open, they will likely need to win a couple of Masters 1000 events and reach the later stages of the other tournaments they play.
“The truth is that there is little to say. Whether he is there or not does not affect us. We continue to focus on our own and our objectives,” Alcaraz commented on Sinner’s ban during media day at the Qatar Open.
“Number one is always a goal. As I say, not being there doesn’t change anything for us. We try to improve in our field and focus on continuing to work to reach number one.”
Alcaraz has won nine out of 10 matches played so far this season, winning his first ATP indoor title at the Rotterdam Open earlier this month. His only loss was against 24-time Grand Slam champion Novak Djokovic in the quarter-finals of the Australian Open.
He could renew his rivalry with Djokovic in Doha where they have been placed in the same section of the draw. They both must reach the semi-finals to face each other in what will be their ninth Tour-level meeting. Djokovic currently leads the Spaniard 5-3 in their head-to-head.
“It’s a very tough tournament. There are so many top-level players, which shows what a great tournament Doha is. In the end, you have to compete against the best to win any tournament,” said Alcaraz.
“At the moment, it’s going round by round. He (Djokovic) also has to see how he is after the injury, although he has been seen training very well. “We’ll see how the tournament goes, but in the end, a Grand Slam is different to a 500-category tournament like this one.
“We’ll try to make small changes that were detrimental to us, but the truth is that I think the level I played there was very good and we’ll try to maintain it.”
Looking further ahead to the rest of the year, Alcaraz is eager to add to his trophy collection. He currently has 17 titles to his name which include four Grand Slam trophies.
“Winning at least one Grand Slam and competing for the Masters 1000,” he replied when asked what his goals are for 2025.
“Although in the end all tournaments are important and we want to win as many as possible.”
Alcaraz will start his Doha campaign against former US Open champion Marin Cilic. Meanwhile, Djokovic faces Matteo Berrettini in his opener.
