World No 2 Carlos Alcaraz reveals at this moment he would pick another Grand Slam title over reclaiming the world No 1 ranking. In the 2022 US Open final, Alcaraz defeated Casper Ruud to win his first Grand Slam title. Following his US Open triumph, Alcaraz also reached the world No 1 spot for the first time in his career.
Alcaraz, who missed the Australian Open due to a knee injury, was replaced by Novak Djokovic at the top spot after the opening Grand Slam of the year. In Indian Wells, Alcaraz was asked to pick between another Grand Slam title or reclaiming the top spot.
“It’s tough to pick one, but I would say right now to win a major,” Alcaraz admitted, per Sportskeeda.
Alcaraz learning from Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal
After missing the start of the season, Alcaraz returned to action during the Golden Swing as he won Buenos Aires and ended as runner-up in Rio de Janeiro.
In Rio de Janeiro, Alcaraz dealt with an injury and he skipped Acapulco before returning to action in Indian Wells. On Thursday, Alcaraz defeated Felix Auger-aliassime in the Indian Wells quarterfinal. With that win, Alcaraz improved to 12-1 on the season.
Alcaraz has missed some time in 2023 due to injuries, but when he has played, he has done well. “[It doesn’t] surprise [me] so much, because I am a player and I’m a guy who learn really fast. I was surprised when I won Buenos Aires, but right now, I’m not surprised at it.
I look to the big players, you know, Djokovic or Rafa, when they are coming from an injury and probably [they have] a great percentage to win the tournament after an injury. So I look from them a little bit when I was injured, you know, training.
They motivate me to, you know, play the good game, you know, after an injury in the first tournaments,” Alcaraz said.
