Carlos Alcaraz: ‘My goal in tennis is to be in the same table as the legends’
Alcaraz has won seven titles this season alone, including the US and French Opens.
At just 22, the Spaniard has six Grand Slam titles to his name and he is the favourite to win the Japan Open in a competitive field including the fifth-ranked Taylor Fritz, who he lost to at the Lever Cup this weekend.
But Alcaraz was careful not to get ahead of himself over his greatness, despite the banner year he’s having.
Asked if he thinks about the incomparable success he could end up with – Djokovic has a record 24 major championships – when it’s all said and done, Alcaraz said, “It’s something that’s not in my mind right now.
“I’ve been asked about what is your goal in tennis. I always say that, OK, my goal in tennis is to be in the same table as the legends or the best players in history but it’s not something that I’m thinking right now.
“I’ve achieved great things already at just 22 years old. I already know that but I don’t know in the future how many things or how many tournaments I am going to achieve.
“So I think it’s something that I have to take care every day about the details, about everything – practicing well and we will see in the future.
“I think nobody knows the future so what I’m thinking right now is to do the good things that I’ve been doing, follow the good path. “I’m trying to be the best player and the best person I can be every day.
“That’s all I’m thinking right now.”
Either Alcaraz or second-ranked Jannik Sinner has won every Grand Slam the last two years, with many pointing to the dawn of a Big Two Era.
Alcaraz managed to get the better of the Italian at the US Open but he fully expects Sinner to adjust for their next match-up.
“He’s going to change something from the last match, the same thing that I did when I lost to him a couple of times. I tried to be a better, better player.
“Next time I’m going to face him, I expect him to do the same thing, to change a few things. I have to be focused and I have to be ready for the changes.
“So we will see the next time I’m going to face him. But as I said, we will see in the future how many times I play against him and in which circumstances we will play.
“But right now it’s going great.”