Carlos Alcaraz might be sitting pretty at the top of the tennis rankings, but he is aware that a group of players is hoping to topple him.
The Spaniard will return to action next week at the Qatar Open in what will be his first event since creating history at the Australian Open. In Melbourne, he defeated Novak Djokovic to become the youngest man in the Open Era to achieve a career slam at the age of 22. He has won 25 titles so far in his career, with seven of those being achieved at a major event.
Despite his success, Alcaraz knows he has to improve his game to stay ahead of rivals. He is coached on the Tour by Samuel Lopez with his brother, Alvaro, also playing a prominent role in the team.
“Obviously I can see myself that [I have had] a lot of success so far, winning the biggest tournaments in the world,” atptour.com quoted Alcaraz as saying on Sunday in Qatar.
“But I just see myself with weaknesses. A lot of players, I know that they’re trying to catch me up in terms of they are studying my game, they study how I play, trying to beat me, trying to challenge me.
“I have to be ready for that, and I have to see where my level is, where my tennis is. I have to try to put myself in their minds and think what they could do when playing against me. So that’s what I mean about saying I have to improve some things. Obviously, you cannot be lagging in the level, you just have to keep it going.”
One of his biggest rivals is Jannik Sinner, who will also be playing at the Qatar Open. The duo have won the past nine Grand Slams between them. Alcaraz currently leads their head-to-head 10-6 but isn’t thinking too far ahead about the prospect of meeting No.17 in Doha.
“[I’m] just thinking about a match at a time, and let’s see how far I can go,” he said.
“Obviously my mind is trying to go as far as I can. If it’s possible to play a final, obviously that would be great, and that’s what I’m looking for, so let’s see. I’m not thinking about playing or just putting myself in the final too early. I want to think day by day.”
Meanwhile, Sinner has told Sky Sports Italy he has made some minor adjustments following his Australian Open loss to Djokovic in the semi-finals. Until that loss, he was on a 19-match winning streak at the tournament.
“The match against Nole taught me a lot,” Sinner explains.
“I think it was a great match, both on my part and on his. I had my chances, sometimes it doesn’t go as you hope, but that’s sport.
“We’re changing small details on the court, things that take a bit of time to become as natural as possible. But he gave me good feedback.
“We must not forget that sometimes losing is normal; it happens. Now we’ll see how it goes moving forward.”
In Doha, Alcaraz’s first round match will be against Arthur Rinderknech, and Sinner will face Tomas Machac.
