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Carlos Alcaraz has been warned over his recent fixation on Novak Djokovic. The 20-year-old has openly admitted that he thinks about the Serb and their battle for the world No 1 ranking \u201cin every practice and at every tournament\u201d. But retired tennis legend Jimmy Connors believes it could leave Alcaraz vulnerable when he faces other players as the Spaniard\u2019s focus may have already cost him matches against Jannik Sinner and Daniil Medvedev.<\/p>\n
Alcaraz has one main goal for the rest of the 2023 season, to reclaim the world No 1 ranking from Djokovic. In his quest, the two-time Grand Slam champion has made it no secret that he\u2019s always thinking about his rival. \u201cIt’s something that I keep in mind every time I’m training, I think about it in every tournament,\u201d he said ahead of the recent China Open.<\/p>\n
The Spaniard doubled down on his comments after arriving at the Shanghai Masters as he told Tennis TV: \u201cI\u2019m not going to lie. I practice with a goal, I go to the tournaments with a goal. It\u2019s trying to end the year as No 1 so Novak Djokovic is around my mind almost in every practice.\u201d<\/p>\n
Alcaraz has now been told to \u201cbe careful\u201d following his claims. \u201cMy first thought about it is, I get that, even though Alcaraz beat him at Wimbledon, he’s been kind of a thorn in his side a little bit,\u201d former world No 1 Jimmy Connors said on his Advantage Connors podcast.<\/p>\n
Click here to join our WhatsApp community to be the first to receive breaking and exclusive tennis news<\/strong><\/p>\n Just in <\/strong> Rune and family receive ‘threats’ as star’s sister ready to involve police[LATEST] <\/strong><\/p>\n The eight-time Major winner thought that Alcaraz\u2019s focus on Djokovic could leave him vulnerable when he matches up against other players – something that happened against Medvedev at the US Open and Sinner in Beijing. He continued: \u201cBut he\u2019s got to be careful doing that because then you’re preparing for only one guy.<\/p>\n \u201cAnd I understand also that you think, \u2018Well if I\u2019m playing good enough to be that guy, I’ll be able to beat everybody else too.\u2019 But that’s not really true because other guys have different games, as he saw with Sinner. And the way he plays is different than the way Novak, Alcaraz or Medvedev. These guys, they’re big, they’re strong.\u201d<\/p>\n We use your sign-up to provide content in ways you’ve consented to and to improve our understanding of you. This may include adverts from us and 3rd parties based on our understanding. You can unsubscribe at any time. More info<\/p>\n![](\"https:\/\/cdn.images.express.co.uk\/img\/dynamic\/72\/590x\/secondary\/5003820.jpg?r=1696931350917\")
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