Carlos Alcaraz on dethroning Novak Djokovic: "By playing in China Open and Shanghai Masters, I have the opportunity to get close to No. 1"

Novak Djokovic maintains a stranglehold over the World No.1 ranking, having snatched it from Carlos Alcaraz — who was the defending champion in New York — after the US Open.

The loss, however, has motivated the young Spaniard even more and he is actively working towards the goal of regaining his position atop the ladder.

Playing at the China Open, Alcaraz got the better of Yannick Hanfmann in the opening round. Speaking about closing the gap between him and Djokovic during his post-match press conference, the World No. 2 said the Serb not playing the Asian swing has given him the opportunity to close in.

"I think Novak Djokovic defends some points soon, in the race he is like 700 or 800 points ahead," Carlos Alcaraz said. "By playing these two tournaments and Novak Djokovic does not participate I have the opportunity to get closer to number one."

"That is the meaning of these two tournaments, to be able to do well here in Beijing and Shanghai and be able to regain number one soon," he continued. "If I don't achieve it and get closer to it, it will also be great, because there are still some tournaments ahead."

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"I felt very good, really" - Carlos Alcaraz as he chases down Novak Djokovic and World No. 1 ranking

Carlos Alcaraz is chasing down Novak Djokoivc and World No. 1 ranking at the China Open.

Shifting the focus to his performance on the day, Carlos Alcaraz said he felt "very good" despite it only being a first-round encounter. He has ousted Yannick Hanfmann in straight sets 6-4, 6-3.

He, however, was quick to add that there were still a few things that he was looking to improve. He did share his satisfaction with the way his serve worked, saying the quality improved as the match progressed.

"I felt very good, really," Alcaraz said. "Despite being a first round, I felt really good, moving and playing well. I am very, very happy with my performance. I did very well all the things in which I am improving, which I have to improve a little."

"In addition, I have been training serve a lot, serving very well in training." he continued. "It was a little difficult for me to see that I was not serving very well in the first set, missing a lot of first serves. Dealing with that was a little complicated, but I think I finished the match serving quite well."

Alcaraz will take on Lorenzo Musetti in his second-round match at the China Open. A title run here will take him to 9,035, still a good 2,500 points behind Novak Djokovic's 11,545.