"Carlos Alcaraz has to relax about World No. 1, he should not obsess over that" - Alex Corretja
Former player Alex Corretja reckons his younger compatriot Carlos Alcaraz shouldn't take the pressure of returning to World No. 1. According to Corretja, Alcaraz should concentrate on his performances and the ranking will take care of itself.
Alcaraz, 20, ended the year at World No. 2, 2390 points behind Novak Djokovic. The race for the World No. 1 will commence in earnest in a few weeks when the 2024 season gets underway.
Djokovic will be defending 2000 ranking points at the Australian Open, while Alcaraz will defend nothing at the Melbourne Slam, having made a belated season debut in Buenos Aires. A deep run from Alcaraz, possibly a triumph, coupled with an unlikely early exit for Djokovic could once again see the World No. 1 ranking change hands.
However, in an interaction with Eurosport (via Punto de Break), Corretja has urged Alcaraz to be calm, as he has been to the summit before:
"I think Carlos has to relax about number one. He has already been number one. He has already proven to himself that he can be at the top of the ranking, and now we have to wait for the moment. You should not get obsessed with that: it can make you play tournaments that under normal conditions you would not play."
Corretja added:
"The number one will come as a consequence of your results, but I don't think it should be a goal: it may be an illusion, but it generates an extra tension that I don't believe 'Let him compensate you.'"
What is Carlos Alcaraz's record at the Australian Open?
Former World No. 1 Carlos Alcaraz has a rather modest record at the year's first Grand Slam event.
The young Spaniard has only made two main-draw appearances Down Under. The first time he did so was in 2021, when the then-teenager emerged from qualifying - dropping one set in three matches - to make the main draw.
Alcaraz beat Dutchman Botic van de Zandschulp on his Australian Open main draw debut in straight sets. However, in the very next round, the Spaniard fell in a fourth-set tiebreak to World No. 95 Mikael Ymer of Sweden. He won the first set 6-2, but Ymer took the next two 6-4, 6-4, before taking the fourth 7-5 in a tiebreak.
The Spaniard would fare better in his next appearance at Melbourne Park. Ranked 90th in the world, Alcaraz didn't need to come through qualifying. He went through the first two rounds (defeating Alejandro Tabilo and Dusan Lajovic) without dropping a set.
However, Carlos Alcaraz met his match with seventh seed Matteo Berrettini. He took the opening two sets before Berrettini forced a decider. Alcaraz went the distance, forcing a tiebreak, but lost 7-5 to bow out.