Carlos Alcaraz gives views on ‘pressure to fight with Novak Djokovic to be the No. 1’ ahead of French Open

Carlos Alcaraz has shared his thoughts on the perceived “pressure to fight with Djokovic to be the No. 1” in their ATP rankings battle ahead of the French Open.

For Alcaraz, the apparent pressure that is on his shoulders is not something that he is feeling, and he is simply trying to just enjoy having a “beautiful year with beautiful tournaments” ahead of the second Grand Slam of the season in Paris.

“I am not a kid or a player who is happy with little things,” Alcaraz said in a press conference at the Rio Open.

“I always want more, and we will look for it this week. The truth is that I don’t feel any pressure to fight with [Novak] Djokovic to be the No. 1.

“The truth is that I hope to have a beautiful year with beautiful tournaments, to be honest. I’ll have a little pressure because I’ll defend some important titles and play at a great level.

“But as I have said before, I’ll have to play match by match, enjoying it, more than having results. That is what I hope.”

After he completed a straight-sets victory over Mateus Alves in the opening round of the ATP 500 event, Alcaraz expressed his relief at coming through an encounter that was “tougher than I thought” to seal his progression.

“I have always said that it’s not easy to change the conditions. I came from Buenos Aires with different conditions, you know? Coming here, it’s not easy to start the tournament well.

“I am really happy with my performance. I am really happy to get through this round. The truth is that I am happy to advance to the next round.

“It was not my best match, but it’s never easy to play the first match of a tournament and change the conditions. I am happy that I won and am able to keep playing here in Rio.”

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