"There are seven or eight players who would deserve it" - Carlos Alcaraz on fighting for World No. 1 with Novak Djokovic, Stefanos Tsitsipas & others
Following his title win at the Argentina Open, Carlos Alcaraz recently discussed fighting for the World No. 1 spot with rivals Novak Djokovic, Stefanos Tsitsipas, and others.
On his tournament debut, World No. 2 Alcaraz defeated second seed Cameron Norrie 6-3, 7-5 on Sunday, February 19, to win his seventh ATP Tour title. It was also his first title since winning his maiden Grand Slam at the US Open last year.
The Spaniard has only dropped one set in the ATP 250 tournament against Laslo Djere in his first match. He also closed the gap with World No. 1 Novak Djokovic in the ATP Rankings by 590 points by going 7-2 in tour-level finals.
A Champion's Return 🔆
The moment @carlosalcaraz finished his week in Buenos Aires by winning the title! https://t.co/6BNF80xJ5V
Following his victory, Carlos Alcaraz was asked in a press conference if he sees himself competing for the World No. 1 spot in 2023, and if so, with whom. In response, he named Novak Djokovic and Stefanos Tsitsipas.
Alcaraz also indicated that there were others capable of winning Grand Slam titles and deserving of the top spot in the ATP Rankings. However, he refused to name them as he did not want to leave anyone out.
"I have a good year ahead of me. I'm defending one title or another, I have some very nice tournaments ahead and I hope to enjoy them," Alcaraz said.
"As you said, I'm fighting for the number one with Djokovic, Tsitsipas, they are the closest, but that does not mean that behind there are no other players."
He further added:
"There is a very wide range of possibilities and players who can win Grand Slams and who can be fighting for the number one: I will not start naming because I do not want to leave any, but there are seven or eight players there who would deserve it and who have the level to be at the top."
"I take a lot of positive things from here" - Carlos Alcaraz on his Argentina Open title win
Carlos Alcaraz was out of action for more than three months due to abdominal and hamstring injuries prior to the Argentina Open. He said he felt "very good physically and mentally" back on the court.
"It's been a great week for me. I started off playing pretty well, but I still had a lot of room for improvement," Alcaraz stated.
"I think from the match against [Dusan] Lajovic, in the quarterfinals, it seemed like I didn't stop competing. I felt very good physically, very good tennis, very good mentally."
The young Spaniard added that he has a lot of good takeaways from his victory and hopes that what lies ahead for him on the tour will also be "very positive."
"It seemed that I had been playing for a long time, yes. I take a lot of positive things from here, from every match, and for the South American tour I hope that what lies ahead will also be very positive," he said.
Next up, Alcaraz will be seen in action at the Rio Open, scheduled to take place from February 20-26.