“I’m going to try to get the No 1 spot back from Novak as soon as possible” – Alcaraz sets his goal post-US Open

Carlos Alcaraz had a truncated opening to his 2023 US Open title defence, with a walkover win following the retirement of Dominik Koepfer.

And he knew going into the match that with Novak Djokovic winning his first-round match, the Serbian would be back at the top of the rankings following the conclusion of the tournament.

That’s because Djokovic has no points to defend in New York; even if Alcaraz retained his title, it wouldn’t be enough to take him back to world No 1.

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And he told journalists that he’s focused on reclaiming that position as soon as he can.

“Well, right now it’s a goal for me honestly,” he said. “I said before that we are having a really good battle for the No 1, Novak and I.

“I knew that he was going to recover the No 1 after US Open. When the tournament is over, I will try to recover as soon as possible. That’s my goal. I am working for that.

“The season has a lot of tournaments until the year is over. I’ll try to recover it before the tournament end, before the year end.”

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