"My goal is to win 1 of the 3 Grand Slams that remain this year" - Carlos Alcaraz
Carlos Alcaraz has said that he intends to make his Grand Slam breakthrough this year by winning one of the three remaining Majors on offer.
Alcaraz has had many firsts this season. After winning his maiden ATP 500 title in Rio de Janeiro, he picked up his first Masters 1000 trophy in Miami a few weeks later. A few weeks later, he triumphed in Barcelona, becoming the youngest top-10 player since Rafael Nadal (2005).
On Saturday at the Madrid Masters, Alcaraz became the first player to beat Nadal and Novak Djokovic in back-to-back matches in the same claycourt tournament. A day later, he beat Alexander Zverev to become the youngest Madrid champion and the first player to win his first five finals without dropping a set.
Considering his exploits over the last few weeks, many believe the teenager can go on to win his first Grand Slam title this year. When asked about this very possibility in an exclusive interaction with Marca, the World No. 6 replied in the affirmative, stating that he would like to do so at Roland Garros.
"My goal until the end of the year is to try to win one of the three remaining Grand Slams. It is a great motivation for me and I will fight for it. It's obviously a good goal. Winning here gives me a lot of confidence ahead of Roland Garros, and it's something I have as my goal. My goal this year is to win a Grand Slam, and hopefully it will be in Paris."
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Alcaraz has withdrawn from the Rome Masters due to an ankle sprain as he intends to arrive at Roland Garros fit and fresh.
"I'm not afraid to play five-set matches against the best" - Carlos Alcaraz
Carlos Alcaraz made his Grand Slam debut at the Australian Open last year, losing to Mikael Ymer in the second round.
He fared better at Roland Garros, reaching the third round, before losing to Jan-Lennard Struff. Following a second-round exit at Wimbledon (lost to Daniil Medvedev), Alcaraz announced himself on the Grand Slam stage at the US Open. The Spaniard reeled off successive five-set wins over Stefanos Tsitsipas and Peter Gojowczyk to storm into the quarterfinals, where he retired from his match against Felix Auger-Aliassime.
This kid is INCREDIBLE.
Carlos Alcaraz rallies from two sets down to reach the #USOpen quarterfinals. https://t.co/lHF1VyUdbd
At the Australian Open this year, he lost to Matteo Berrettini in a fifth-set tie-break in the third round. Ahead of his second Roland Garros campaign, a confident Alcaraz told Marca that he is unafraid of playing five-set matches at Majors.
"I am a bull. I'm not afraid to play five sets against the best, I'm ready. Playing very long matches, I take it as an advantage."
Buoyed by his success this year, Alcaraz looks primed for a deep run at Roland Garros. It remains to be seen if he can breach the bastion of 13-time winner Nadal and carve out his own niche.