Carlos Alcaraz now aims for progress, not the No. 1 ranking

Young athlete Carlos Alcaraz, who holds the No. 3 spot in the world rankings, has admitted that his focus over the next few months is not on returning to the top. His priority, instead, is avoiding extra pressure as he works on finding his best form. 

Recently, Alcaraz delivered a commanding 6-1, 6-1 win over Grigor Dimitrov to advance to the quarter-finals of Indian Wells. The 21-year-old is aiming for his third straight title, wishing to join the ranks of Roger Federer (2004-06) and Novak Djokovic (2014-16) in accomplishing this rare success. 

While a victory this week won’t be enough for Alcaraz to overtake the top-ranked Jannik Sinner or even No. 2 Alexander Zverev, it could position him well for a strong run during the European clay-court season, where he aims to defend his French Open title. 

The athlete said: “I’m not thinking much about recovering the No. 1 in two or three months. That could make me feel extra pressure.” 

He added: “If I’m doing the right things, if I’m focused on every day and the things I have to improve, the result is going to be there and then the No. 1 is going to come after… Right now, I’m focused on this tournament, Indian Wells, and I want to still play good tennis. Hopefully, make the final or lift the trophy. That’s my goal here.” 

In a social media post, the athlete shared: “IW feels like home! 🏠 Next stop: the quarters! 🚀”

 

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A post shared by Carlos Alcaraz Garfia (@carlitosalcarazz)

What’s next for Alcaraz? 

Alcaraz, the four-time Grand Slam champion, will now face 26th-ranked Argentine Francisco Cerundolo. 

Speaking about his upcoming match with Cerundolo, Alcaraz stated: “He’s playing great. I don’t know which surface is his favourite, clay or hard court. He plays really well on both. Even grass, too. That means he’s a complete player… He can play really good tennis on every surface… I’ll have to be really focused on my tennis. I’ll try to play aggressively with passion. It’s going to be a difficult one.” 

In other matches from the men’s draw, Briton Jack Draper defeated home favourite and former champion Taylor Fritz with a final scoreline of 7-5, 6-4 to reach his first-ever quarter-final. He will now play against 11th seed Ben Shelton.