Carlos Alcaraz relishes ‘beautiful battle’ for No. 1 spot at China Open

Spain’s Carlos Alcaraz gestures as he leaves the court after losing the US Open tennis tournament men’s singles semi-finals match against Russia’s Daniil Medvedev at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in New York City, on September 8, 2023. (Photo by kena betancur / AFP)

World number two Carlos Alcaraz said Wednesday his “beautiful battle” with Novak Djokovic at the top of men’s tennis was driving him on as he prepared for the China Open in Beijing.

Alcaraz beat top-rated Djokovic in a memorable Wimbledon final in July and could close the gap on the Serb at the top of the rankings with a strong performance in the Chinese capital.

Asked by AFP at a media briefing on Wednesday if his tussle with Djokovic was giving him extra impetus, Alcaraz said: “Yes, of course.”

“We have a really beautiful battle for the number one spot after the great performance Djokovic had in the American season,” the Spaniard said.

“For me, the number one spot is one of the main goals,” he said.

Alcaraz is the top seed for the China Open and will likely kick off his campaign with a match against a qualifier on Thursday.

Djokovic, who won the US Open this month, is a notable absence from a tournament that has still lured a host of big names.

They include Daniil Medvedev — runner-up in the United States — who faces American powerhouse Tommy Paul in a tough first-round draw.

Medvedev, ranked third in the world, said at a briefing on Wednesday a “competitive” field was pushing him to finish the season strongly.

“Sometimes the end of the season can be tricky because all the Grand Slams are finished, so you need to find this motivation,” the Russian said.

“The motivation is… to continue proving to yourself that you can win these big tournaments, big titles, against big opponents,” he said.

World number four Holger Rune will also take on Felix Auger-Aliassime of Canada in the first round.

Other leading participants include Stefanos Tsitsipas, Andrey Rublev and Jannik Sinner.

International tennis has returned to China this year after Beijing ended its years-long, isolationist zero-Covid policy.

The China Open is being held for the first time since 2019 and follows men’s and women’s tournaments in the cities of Guangzhou, Zhuhai and Chengdu.

The women’s tour is back in China after its global governing body ended its boycott of the country.

The WTA had suspended its engagements there after Chinese player Peng Shuai made sexual assault allegations against a top government official.