Carlos Alcaraz spoke openly about his goal for the end of the season, the Iberian mentioned the name of Novak Djokovic: “Almost in all my thoughts in Nole training.”

Carlos AlcarazPhoto: Tetsu Joko/AP/Profimedia

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Jimmy Connors says it would be a mistake for Alcaraz to focus solely on Djokovic

Carlos, present at the Shanghai Masters, was asked by journalists about the rivalry with Novak Djokovic.

Frankly, the Murcia-born Spaniard said: “I think about him almost every training session, I’m not going to lie to you.

I am preparing with a clear goal: to finish the year in 1st place, I have to train as well as possible. I need to be 100% every ball to be able to answer him” – Carlos Alcaraz.

After hearing Alcaraz’s words, former world leader Jimmy Connors gave some advice to the young Iberian.

“My first thought on this (rather than Alcaraz’s statement that he always thinks about Nole in training) is that even though Carlos beat him at Wimbledon, it was a bit of a thorn in his side. He has to be very careful when he does that because then you’re setting yourself up for one guy (not Novak).

I understand what you’re thinking: “If I play well enough for Djokovic, I can beat the others.”

But that’s not exactly the case because others have other games, as we saw with Sinner (not the one who beat him recently). And the manner of his game is different from that of Novak, Alcaraz or Medvedev.

You have to be willing to play with everyone you meet. I went out on the court and worked on my game because I thought I should be good enough to play with anyone, not just one opponent.

It is not only Novak: it is Grishnyk, there is also Medvedev, there may be others,” he added. Jimmy Connors.

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Who is Jimmy Connors?

Jimmy Connors, 71, is a former ATP leader who won eight Grand Slam titles (Australian Open 1974, Wimbledon 1974, 1982 and US Open 1974, 1976, 1978, 1982).

He won 1,274 and lost 283 times, and he collected $8,641,040 in tennis prizes alone.

Know:

  • Carlos Alcaraz is currently playing at the Shanghai Masters, where he will meet Grigor Dimitrov (18th seed) in the round of 16.
  • Former ATP leader Alcaraz (20 years old) has won two major titles so far: US Open 2022 and Wimbledon 2023.
  • During this time, Alcaraz and Djokovic met four times with a score of 2:2.