Carlos Alcaraz says taking world No. 1 off Novak Djokovic gives him 'motivation' for Queen's final - 'A beautiful fight'
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Published 24/06/2023 at 20:22 GMT
The world No. 1 spot and a top seeding for Wimbledon are on offer for Carlos Alcaraz if he beats Alex de Minaur in Sunday's final at Queen's. The Spaniard described the prize as "extra motivation" and described his battle for supremacy with Novak Djokovic as "a beautiful fight." Alcaraz also explained where he feels he's improved the most on the unfamiliar grass surface this week.
'A beautiful fight' - Alcaraz savouring world No. 1 battle with Djokovic
Carlos Alcaraz says the prize of becoming world No. 1 and the top seed for Wimbledon will be an “extra motivation” for him in the Queen's final against Alex de Minaur.
Alcaraz was bumped off the top spot in the ATP rankings by Novak Djokovic earlier this month after the Serbian won the French Open, but the Spaniard will return to the summit if he seals a fifth title of the season in London.
A No. 1 ranking would also make him the top seed at Wimbledon, which starts on July 3, and where Alcaraz will be looking for his second major, and first at SW19.
“It [the No. 1 battle] is helping me a lot. It is an extra motivation for me,” Alcaraz said.
“During the match I am not thinking about that, but it is an extra motivation for me to going into the final with extra energy, and I am going for it.
“To be top seed at Wimbledon and No. 1 for me it is still a dream. It is something that I worked on, to recover the No. 1.
“I think Novak and I, we are having a beautiful fight for the No. 1 [spot]. I am going to go for it and it is crazy for me to be top seed at Wimbledon.”
Alcaraz is making his Queen’s debut this year in what is only his third grass-court tournament appearance, following last-16 and second-round exits in the last two years at Wimbledon.
The 20-year-old surged past Sebastian Korda in Saturday’s semi-final with a straight-sets win and has been encouraged with his progress on an unfamiliar surface.
“The thing that I learned the most this week is about how to move,” he said.
“I am moving well on grass right now. I started the week with doubts about movement and about hitting the ball, but right now, as I said, I feel like I have been playing on grass for many years.”
Alcaraz is up against De Minaur for the trophy, the Australian world No. 18 having stunned second seed Holger Rune with a straight-sets semi-final victory.
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Highlights: De Minaur upsets Rune to reach Queen's final
De Minaur has enjoyed a superb week in London, also knocking out Andy Murray, Diego Schwartzman and Adrian Mannarino, and is bidding for an eighth career title.
“Alex is playing well and [had] a really good game with a lot of confidence, so it is going to be a really tough one, but I am excited to play my first final on grass and I am going to enjoy it for sure,” said Alcaraz.
“I am very happy for reaching my first ever grass final, even if it is an ATP 500 final. I played finals of Grand Slams and ATP 1000, but I think he [De Minaur] hasn’t played so many finals.
“I am taking that as an advantage, but I am very happy to be playing at this level and to have the opportunity to win another title, especially on grass where I don’t have that much experience. Let’s try to win it.”
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You can watch daily highlights from Wimbledon at 10pm on Eurosport 2 and discovery+ from July 3, as well as the two singles finals live on July 15 and 16.
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