Carlos Alcaraz has outlined his priorities for the rest of the season as he prepares to make his debut at the Shanghai Masters. The 20-year-old is once again focusing on chasing Novak Djokovic’s No 1 ranking. But Alcaraz also set a new goal – to learn from his “failures” – in a telling statement about how he handles setbacks and losses.
Alcaraz is going into Shanghai as the top seed, competing at the tournament for the first time in his young career. The world No 2 is still hoping to make up some ranking points on Djokovic with the 36-year-old not competing, and he will be bidding to bounce back after suffering defeat in the recent China Open semi-final.
The Spaniard was beaten by Jannik Sinner 7-6(4) 6-1, admitting that he lost his head in the second set. And Alcaraz has now confessed that he wants to learn from his failures alongside his quest to return to No 1 in the world.
“Honestly, the tournaments that I have already had, I’m thinking about the No 1, being able to earn the No 1. For me, that’s the main goal for right now to the end of the season. Let’s see, you know,” he started.
Click here to join our WhatsApp community to be the first to receive breaking and exclusive tennis news
Just in Coco Gauff playing with house money as American surpasses Swiatek with ‘bonus'[LATEST]
But the 12-time title winner had also added a new goal to his list following his loss in Beijing. He continued: “But as well to learn, you know, from the, I’m going to say from, you know, the failures, that probably I could experience.
“You know, I learn from that and learning how can I be better every day or every practice, you know, that’s the main thing for me, but obviously, the No 1 is, you know, on my mind as well.”
It’s a telling statement on Alcaraz’s willingness to accept his mistakes and improve. Currently ranked at No 2 in the world, he has already started trying to learn from his failures as he evaluated his loss to Sinner. “Well, I talked with Juan Carlos [Ferrero, his coach] on how I would have to change it, you know, how can I be better, you know, on that part,” he explained.
We use your sign-up to provide content in ways you’ve consented to and to improve our understanding of you. This may include adverts from us and 3rd parties based on our understanding. You can unsubscribe at any time. More info
Don’t miss…
Medvedev gushes with belief as ‘already won’ gauntlet thrown down to Alcaraz[QUOTES]
Novak Djokovic not getting what he ‘deserves’ as Kyrgios makes Federer argument[REACTION]
Novak Djokovic makes locker room theft accusation against Holger Rune[RESPONSE]
“Obviously, I have to do my homework, to re-watch the match and to see the things more clear, you know, and study what happened exactly, and be able to practice and be better on this tournament. I have just one day to practice and then the tournament is going to start, but I think I’ll be ready, and I’ll change what I did wrong in Beijing.”
As for his quest to be the world No 1, Alcaraz has already made it crystal clear that Djokovic is always on his mind. In Beijing, he claimed that he thought about the 24-time Grand Slam champion “in training and at every tournament.”
The 20-year-old doubled down on his comments in Shanghai, telling Tennis TV: “Almost in every practice. I’m not going to lie. I practice with a goal, I go to the tournaments with a goal. It’s trying to end the year as No 1 so Novak Djokovic is around my mind almost in every practice.”
Source: Read Full Article
