Carlos Alcaraz has sent a message to Jannik Sinner by asserting that ending the 2024 season as the ATP world No 1 is one of his “main goals.”
The Spaniard revealed that being No 1 is a target whenever he does not occupy the position and highlighted the importance of the Race to the ATP Finals to him.
Alcaraz is in Cincinnati to play his first tournament since leaving the 2024 Paris Olympics with a silver medal, following his loss to Novak Djokovic in an enthralling gold medal contest.
The 21-year-old is currently ranked third in the ATP Rankings on 7,950 points behind world No 1 Sinner (8,770 points) and world No 2 Novak Djokovic (8,460 points).
Alcaraz was a runner-up at the Cincinnati Masters in 2023, meaning he will need to reach the final or win the Masters 1000 event this year to improve his points tally.
ATP News
ATP Rankings: Jannik Sinner surpasses legend, Sebastian Korda +3, Alexei Popyrin +32, Matteo Arnaldi +17
Jannik Sinner’s biggest opponent is revealed – and it’s not Carlos Alcaraz or Novak Djokovic
The four-time Grand Slam champion is second in the ATP Race to Turin Rankings on 5,960 points, 450 points behind Sinner, who is top with 6,410 points. The Race Rankings count only points from the current year and determine the eight qualifiers for the season-ending ATP Finals.
Speaking ahead of the Cincinnati Masters, Alcaraz outlined his ambition to chase down Sinner at the top of the ATP Rankings and in the Race.
“Obviously being No 1 is a goal every time that I am [behind] and the race is an important ranking for me,” said the world No 3.
“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. 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 No 1 is one of my main goals right now. So I’m looking forward to doing it and let’s see.
“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 will face either Gael Monfils or Alexei Popyrin in his opening match in Cincinnati, where he is the No 2 seed. The Spaniard could face off with Sinner in the final at the hard-court event.