"Ending the year as No.1 is one of my main goals" - Carlos Alcaraz announces his 2024 aim as race with Jannik Sinner heats up ahead of Cincinnati Open

Carlos Alcaraz has had an impressive year, with title wins at the French Open and Wimbledon cementing him as one of the best men's tennis players of 2024. He was last seen in action at the Paris Olympics, where he won the silver after losing the final to Novak Djokovic. The Spaniard has now won four Grand Slams overall and an Olympic medal at just 21 years of age.

Alcaraz now enters the Cincinnati Open as the World No. 3, 820 points behind first-ranked Jannik Sinner. A former World No. 1 himself, he has set himself a rather difficult task for the season -- to finish it as the No. 1 player in the world. It was a feat he achieved in 2022, the same year he became the World No. 1 for the first time in his career after winning the US Open.

“Obviously being No. 1 is a goal every time that I am [behind] and the race is an important ranking for me. At the end of the year, if you end the race No. 1, in the rankings [it is] quite similar, so you're going to end the No. 1,” Alcaraz said in a conversation with the ATP ahead of the Cincinnati Open.

“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, and this year, ending the year as No. 1 is one of my main goals right now. So I'm looking forward to doing it and let's see," he added.

Alcaraz went on to speak about the importance of the Cincinnati Open for him, hoping to carry on the momentum he had at the Olympics and previous outings in Cincinnati. Last year, he made the final, losing to Djokovic again in an epic three-setter.

“I’m fighting for being No. 1 in the race, that's something that I really want to to do as soon as possible, if I could do it in the future, This one is a really important tournament, really good tournament for me. So I'm going to try to play good tennis, try to play same level as I was playing, and let's see,” Alcaraz continued.

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"I felt like I didn't play really great tennis" - Carlos Alcaraz reflects on his recent victories

2024 Summer Olympics - Day 9 - Source: Getty

Carlos Alcaraz has cemented his name as one of the most promising young stars in the new generation of tennis. However, the Spaniard further hopes to improve his performances in the upcoming tournaments.

He reflected on his recent match victories in the aforementioned conversation with the ATP, stating that he feels the matches were won by him without "playing great tennis."

“I’ve been playing great tennis, but probably most of the matches I won, I won them without playing great tennis, or I felt like I didn't play really great tennis, So the way that I approach every match, I stay there strong mentally in some situations, I'm really, really happy about that," Alcaraz said.

At the Cincinnati Open, Alcaraz has been handed a bye in the first round as the No. 2 seed. In the second round, he will start his campaign against either Gael Monfils or Alexei Popyrin.