Carlos Alcaraz has little reason to fear many players on tour at the moment, but there are two that he views as ahead of him at the moment.
The Spaniard exploded onto the scene with his US Open triumph in 2022, and since then has reached new heights by claiming last year’s Wimbledon title, knocking Novak Djokovic off his perch in the process.
It was an astounding match, and one they would mimic a month later at the Cincinnati Masters.
And yet, having proven his ability to challenge those at the very top of the sport, and his world number two ranking, his recent form has him questioning that place.
But who are the two stars he thinks are ahead of him at the moment? Let’s take a closer look…
Which players does Carlos Alcaraz fear for 2024?
When consulting the ATP rankings, it is only Djokovic ahead of him.
He is then followed by Daniil Medvedev, Jannik Sinner and Andrey Rublev, but there is a distinct gap between him and the rest of the top ten.
And yet, speaking in his press conference ahead of the Buenos Aires Open, he dispelled this suggestion, having also outlined the tournament win he is targeting this year.
The 20-year-old claimed: ‘I think Djokovic and Sinner are the rivals to beat, there is no doubt, both for me and for everyone.
‘Zverev also has the winning H2H against me, he is a rival that I have very much in mind, but I do think that Djokovic and Sinner are at the top right now.
‘I’m a very competitive, very ambitious guy. I always want to win everything, it is what drives me to continue training at my highest level, to continue going to the tournaments with a lot of desire to get more titles… seeing Djokovic up there, the players who are winning titles now, is something that motivates me to be able to be at the same level as them; also speaking of the Big Three, it motivates me to get closer to them.’
Carlos Alcaraz has history with Sinner & Djokovic
Despite still being very much in the infancy of his career, Alcaraz has already enjoyed some impressive battles with both Sinner and Djokovic, as aforementioned.
Whilst those with the latter have obviously been far more impressive, his two wins are frustratingly balanced out by the three losses suffered.
However, ending the Serbian’s centre-court dominance at Wimbledon marked a historic moment.
Again, with Sinner, he boasts a slightly negative record, with his four losses against the Italian coming at crucial junctures too.
The 22-year-old has dumped him out of Wimbledon in 2022 and the Miami Masters last year, but conversely, of the three wins Alcaraz has enjoyed, two came in competitions he went on to win (2022 US Open, 2023 Indian Wells).
It is no surprise that he fears these two opponents, and he will hope to recapture his form in an effort to rectify those negative records this season.
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