Before Beijing, Alcaraz sets out main objective: returning to world No 1 spot

Chinese audiences are about to get their first taste of Carlos Alcaraz. The Spaniard is in the draw for the first time in Beijing, where he will be the top seed, following Novak Djokovic’s decision to skip the Asian tour.

Having slipped back to second place in the world rankings after the US Open and the success of his Serbian rival, the 20-year-old arrives in the Chinese capital with the firm intention of winning as many points as possible to become world number one again at the end of the season.

“As I said, it’s something that I have in my mind every time that I practise, in every tournament.

“It’s not obligatory for me to recover that, but of course you have to put the goals in the year. So for me No 1 spot is one of the main goals for me. In these great tournaments, I’m looking to do great to be able to be close or recover that number.” Alcaraz said at the Beijing media day.

Alcaraz satisfied with preparation

If he wins his seventh title of the year, the Wimbledon winner will move a step closer to Djokovic: he has just 315 points to make up. But the task ahead in Beijing promises to be an arduous one, as the field will be super-strong. Alcaraz is in the same half of the draw as Jannik Sinner and Holger Rune. If he beats Yannick Hanfmann, a qualifier, in the first round, he could then face Karen Khachanov, recent winner of the Zhuhai tournament.

There’s no need to panic as far as he’s concerned. He is quite happy with his preparation, having not played since his US Open semi-final defeat by Daniil Medvedev: ““We have [had] quality practice at home before coming here, played some sets with players from the academy that are playing great. I’m feeling great coming here. I had my first practice yesterday at the centre court. It was amazing to get in and step on the court see how it is to be playing in that court.”

He can ask his coach Juan Carlos Ferrero, who reached the semi-finals here in 2005, for some advice: “He told me great things about this tournament. He played great the years that he has played here. Yeah, he told me that he enjoyed a lot playing here. Hopefully I feel the same way that he felt when he was playing.”

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