Carlos Alcaraz on ending 2022 as World No. 1: "Even if Rafael Nadal had taken the No. 1 from me, I would've been happy"
Carlos Alcaraz was present at the Pala Alpitour Arena in Italy's Turin on Wednesday to collect his maiden year-end World No. 1 trophy. He was confirmed to finish the season as the top-ranked player after the only two contenders, Rafael Nadal and Stefanos Tsitsipas, failed to put up the results they needed to.
At the age of just 19 years and 214 days, Alcaraz has gone past Australia's Lleyton Hewitt (20 years and 275 days) to become the youngest to achieve the feat. He is also the first player outside of the Big 4 — Roger Federer, Nadal, Novak Djokovic, and Andy Murray — to achieve the year-end No. 1 ranking.
The Spaniard was placed in the 32nd position when the season began, making his feat all the more impressive. Speaking at a press conference, Alcaraz stated that it was an honor for him to register his name alongside the legends of the sport.
"It's incredible that for so many years it was Federer, Nadal, Djokovic, or Murray, and then a 19-year-old 'Chico' comes along and succeeds in this. It means so much to me. Being a part of tennis history alongside these legends is just an incredible feeling," Carlos Alcaraz said.
He added that he would have been happy even if his idol Nadal had won in Turin and became the World No. 1. Alcaraz also revealed that he was rooting for Djokovic in the match between him and Tsitsipas.
"All my life, I have gone with Rafa and here also, I wanted him to win," he said. "Even if he had taken the number 1 from me, I would have been happy. I was hoping Djokovic would win against Tsitsipas because I also have a good relationship with Novak."
"I don't want to go into discussion if I played less or more" - Novak Djokovic on Carlos Alcaraz's year-end No.1 ranking
Due to his unvaccinated status against COVID-19, Novak Djokovic missed quite a few important tournaments in 2022 - including the Australian Open and the US Open. Djokovic did win the Wimbledon Championships, but there were no ranking points awarded to any player for that tournament.
It is for these reasons that many fans believe the Serb would have been the top-ranked player if he had played throughout the season.
But in a press conference after beating Andrey Rublev on Wednesday, Djokovic lauded Carlos Alcaraz for his accomplishments and stated that he deserved the year-end No. 1 spot.
"He deserves it. No doubt about it. I don't want to go into discussion what if I played less or more, whatever. It is what it is. Reality is that he's No. 1. He deserves to be there. He won a Slam. He won many matches in tournaments. He's, I think, a great new face and a player for our sport. He's a very nice guy, works very hard, has a good team of people around him, and represents himself and tennis in a good way. I find only the positive things to say about him," he stated.