Carlos Alcaraz can live with the loss of number one
Carlos Alcaraz is going into the 2023 season as the hunted. But the Spaniard can certainly imagine feeling comfortable in the role of hunter again.
by tennisnet.com
last edit:
Dec 12, 2022, 03:56 pm
Of course: Carlos Alcaraz could do it like Ashleigh Barty: namely retire as the industry leader so that the many competitors have to live forever with the blemish of not having managed to take the number one status away from Alcaraz. The US Open champion of this year is still far too young and too hot for new successes. The 19-year-old Spaniard is also pricing in the fact that he may soon no longer have his place in the sun.
"I will lose this position," Alcaraz told Arab TV a few days ago. "But the point is to get it back and be number one for as long as you can."
Alcaraz with a lot of praise for Swiatek
The tennis year 2022 was not unfortunate for Carlos Alcaraz in terms of ranking: Alexander Zverev was two wins away from the first leap to the top of the world rankings in Roland Garros. The fall against Rafael Nadal intervened. Nadal himself could have stood in front of his young compatriot in better health. And the fact that Novak Djokovic didn't take any ATP points with him for his Wimbledon triumph and was also not allowed to participate in the Australian Open, the US Open or the 1000s in the USA and Canada helped significantly.
On the other hand, Alcaraz was not responsible for any of these fateful turns. He just showed damn good tennis, with highlight tournaments like Miami, Madrid and New York City. Carlos Alcaraz will certainly have to learn how to deal with the pressure from number one, as autumn 2022 was not quite as successful. Which is why the look at Iga Swiatek, the dominator of the WTA tour, is quite reverent: "For me, her year was just incredible. She broke the record for the longest winning streak this century. That's great."