Carlos Alcaraz admits it is great to be ranked at No 1 in the world but underlined that he still has to go out and earn wins and titles. Alcaraz, 19, wrote tennis history in September when he became the youngest top-ranked player in tennis history.
Since winning the US Open and becoming No 1, Alcaraz hasn’t won any titles but he did reach the Basel semifinal last week. “Being number one is a great feeling, but it’s just a number, it’s a ranking. It doesn’t mean you’re going to win every match and every tournament.
Any player still can beat you. That’s the way I’m seeing it,” Alcaraz said, per Tennis Majors.
Alcaraz : “Being number one is a great feeling, but it’s just a number, it’s a ranking. It doesn’t mean you’re going to win every match and every tournament.
Any player still can beat you. That’s the way I’m seeing it.” — Tennis Majors (@Tennis_Majors) November 3, 2022
Alcaraz defeated Grigor Dimitrov at the Paris Masters
On Thursday, Alcaraz saw off Dimitrov 6-1 6-3 to progress into the Paris quarterfinal.
Alcaraz got off to a stunning start versus Dimitrov, claiming back-to-back breaks to open a 4-0 lead. In the seventh game – when Dimitrov was serving to stay in the first set – Alcaraz earned his third break to seal the opener.
After easily winning the first set, Alcaraz started the second set with an early break and a 3-0 lead. Down by a set and break, Dimitrov refused to quit as he broke back Alcaraz and tied the second set to three games apiece.
However, blowing an early second set break didn’t impact Alcaraz, who broke Dimitrov again in the eighth game and served out for the match in the following game. “I started playing pretty well. [Grigor’s] level is very much not the level you saw today, but I played very well.
At the end of the second set, it was tougher for me, he came back, he raised the level and obviously it was tough. He had the chance to go up in the second set, I had to stay calm in that moment and show my best to not allow him to go up,” Alcaraz reflected.
