Carlos Alcaraz has been warned of obsessing about the fight for world number one with Novak Djokovic ahead of the new season.
The last part of the 2023 season heavily featured the battle for world number one on the ATP Tour between the Spanish prodigy and Serbian legend. The Spanish sensation was in a great position to dethrone Djokovic and finish as the best player in the world for the second year in a row, but ultimately, it didn’t happen.
Bad play and injuries contributed to that but there was a fair amount of pressure as well. Alcaraz has had an interesting experience with pressure coming out on top most times but flaming out a few times as well.
He was seemingly quite obsessed with overcoming Djokovic, and that’s kind of the problem.
It’s not the type of distraction he really needs in life, which is why his compatriot and former player Alex Corretja warned him about it ahead of the new season.
I think Carlos has to relax about number one. He has already been number one. He has already proven to himself that he can be at the top of the ranking, and now we have to wait for the moment. You should not get obsessed with that: it can make you play tournaments that under normal conditions you would not play.
The new season is upon us, and one of the main talking points for much of the year will be the battle for number one. Djokovic and Alcaraz will likely go head-to-head, but other players could also insert themselves into the conversation.
Corretja simply wants the Spaniard to just focus on his tennis. Everything else will come along with it. After all, being number one is just proof that you had great results.
The number one will come as a consequence of your results, but I don’t think it should be a goal: it may be an illusion, but it generates an extra tension that I don’t believe ‘Let him compensate you.’
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