Carlos Alcaraz, hungrier than ever without Jannik Sinner: “I want to win it all”

Carlos Alcaraz, having overcome his wrist issues, returned to winning ways at the Tokyo tournament, claiming his first title after a four-month hiatus due to injury. Now the Murcia native is making it crystal clear that he wants to win everything from here on out until the end of the season, including the Davis Cup, aided by Jannik Sinner’s absence due to a knee injury.

“If we look back a couple of years, this part of the season has probably never been my best, so now I want to be in good shape because I really want to win tournaments—this one and the ones coming up in a few weeks. I think it’s an extra boost for the rest of the season.”

“I wouldn’t say my body is fresher because, after being out of competition for so long, when you return to the tour and start playing physically demanding matches, your body isn’t used to it and minor issues can arise. It’s perfectly normal, but mentally I feel fresh—which is the most important thing for me—and I’m ready to take on the challenge of this tournament.”

Sinner dominated the first part of the year, but he’s now set to lose his No. 1 world ranking: “Tennis is, so to speak, like a roller coaster. A player can start the year really well, winning two, three, or four tournaments, and then everything can change. Another player can dominate during the clay-court season or even on grass and win all the tournaments, but then in the United States, everything can change. A year can be very long—we play a lot of matches and a lot of tournaments—and we have plenty of time to adjust our game in the best possible way for the rest of the season. You have to be ready and focused at every tournament and every week of training to improve, because other players might be training even harder to catch up to you.”