After suffering a heartbreak in the men's singles final at the Paris Olympics, Carlos Alcaraz has set his sights on finishing the year 2024 as the top-ranked player on the ATP men's singles rankings.
Alcaraz lost the gold medal match at the Paris Olympics to the 24-time Grand Slam winner Novak Djokovic 7-6(3) 7-6(2) and fell inches short of adding another golden feather to his illustrious cap.
Alcaraz is ranked number three in the world and has a realistic chance of making it to the top given he maintains his imperious form.
"Obviously being number one is a goal every time that I'm (behind) and the race is an important ranking for me. At the end of the year if you end the race number one, in the rankings it's quite similar, so you're going to end number one," Alcaraz was quoted as saying by Reuters.
"So I'm really focused on that. I'm focused on going to every tournament, thinking about playing great tennis, doing a good result just to get better in the race. This year, ending the year as number one is one of my main goals right now."
Alcaraz will be next seen in action in the Cincinnati Open 2024 where he is likely to open his campaign against either Gael Monfils or Alexei Popyrin.
The Cincinnati Open will mark his return to the hard court for the first time since his quarterfinal finish in Miami in March. Alcaraz is eager to do well in Cincinnati as it will serve as a good prep for the US Open.
"I'm excited to play here again. Obviously, great memories from last year, reaching the final, losing a really tight and epic match (to Djokovic)," Alcaraz mentioned.
Notably, Novak Djokovic has withdrawn from the Cincinnati Open following his historic gold medal finish at the Olympics.
