Carlos Alcaraz says he has ‘lost a lot of opportunities’ in race to pass Novak Djokovic for year-end world No. 1

ByAndrew Wright

Published 11/10/2023 at 20:57 GMT+1

Carlos Alcaraz lamented losing "a lot of opportunities" in the race to finish the year as the world No. 1 after losing to Grigor Dimitrov in the last 16 of the Shanghai Masters. Novak Djokovic currently reigns supreme atop the rankings following his US Open victory and the Spaniard passed up a chance to close the gap to the Serbian. Alcaraz also confirmed he will play in Basel.

Carlos Alcaraz admitted his hopes of finishing the season as the world No. 1 were dealt a major blow after his loss to Grigor Dimitrov in the last 16 of the Shanghai Masters.

The Spaniard was aiming to make a 13th quarter-final from 14 events in 2023 and got off to the perfect start when he took the first set. However, he couldn’t maintain his momentum and eventually succumbed 5-7 6-2 6-4 to Dimitrov, who takes on Nicolas Jarry in the last eight as he goes in search of a first title since 2017.

Following his loss to Jannik Sinner in the semi-finals of the China Open, it was another setback for Alcaraz in his bid to overtake Novak Djokovic and end season as the world No. 1 for the second year running.

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Asked if he is confident he can still achieve his goal, he said: “After this loss, it's going to be tougher.

"If I want to be No. 1, I have a few tournaments ahead so I will try to do my best. I will try to win them if I want to have a chance to end the year as No. 1.

"I don't know, but right now I have a lost a lot of opportunities to make it."

Alcaraz is set to be 2,240 points behind Djokovic when the rankings are updated next Monday.

However, Djokovic has far more points to defend in the latter part of the season, so all is not lost for Alcaraz.

Alcaraz says he has 'lost a lot of opportunities' to return to No. 1 after Dimitrov loss

Video credit: SNTV

And the 20-year-old is adamant he is playing well enough to pick up his first title since he dethroned Djokovic at Wimbledon.

He confirmed he will be in action next at the Basel indoor event that starts on October 23 as he seeks to return to the winners’ circle.

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“After this loss, I mean, it's not too much time ago, so I have to think about it, but I will take a lot of lessons to improve in the practice before the tournament that I have ahead,” he added.

“I think I'm playing great tennis. Even if I didn't make the quarter-final or losing in the semi-final, I think I'm playing great tennis.

“So I have to practice a hundred percent in these weeks before Basel, that's the next tournament for me, so I'll try to make my best in that tournament.”

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