The Spanish tennis player returns to action this week at the Beijing tournament
MADRID, 27 Sep. (EUROPA PRESS) –
The Spanish tennis player Carlos Alcaraz referred to the “beautiful battle” he is experiencing with Novak Djokovic for world number one, “one of the goals of the year” to finish at the top of the ranking, in a head-to-head where he can make a cut this week in the Beijing tournament.
“As I have said a few times, we have a beautiful battle for number one after Djokovic’s great results on the American tour,” he said in statements reported on the official ATP website, on the eve of his debut in China.
“He is number one at the moment. I come here with a special motivation to try to get him back in the Race and, of course, in the ranking. It is something that I have in my mind in every training session and in every tournament,” he added.
Alcaraz arrives in the Chinese capital in search of his seventh title of the season, with which he would be just 315 points behind Djokovic, in a race to the ATP Finals that he missed last year due to injury. The Murcian lost the world number one in the US Open, but the battle remains open in the outcome of the year.
“I am not obliged to recover it, but I have to put it among the goals of the year. For me, the number is one of the main objectives. In these big tournaments, I am going to try to do everything possible to get closer or recover that place,” said the Spaniard, who already broke records last year by finishing at the top.
Alcaraz, who will debut in Beijing against an opponent from the qualifying phase, competes for the first time since reaching the semifinals of the US Open. “I have done some good training before coming here, I completed some sets against academy players who are playing well,” said the one from El Palmar, who has a record of 58-7 this season.
“I feel good coming. Yesterday I did the first training session on the center court. It was incredible to enter the stadium and feel what it is like to play on that court,” he added about a tournament that returns to the ATP calendar for the first time since 2019. His coach, Juan Carlos Ferrero, participated five times in Beijing, reaching the semifinals in 2005.
“He has told me things about this tournament. Without a doubt, since 2004 the tournament has improved many things. It is practically a different tournament. But he has told me great details about this event. He played at a good level in the editions he participated in. He told me that “He really enjoyed competing here. I hope I can feel the same way he did,” he confessed.