Carlos Alcaraz’s warning to rivals backfires as US Open blow highlights worrying trend

Carlos Alcaraz's bold warning to rivals about his pursuit of the world No.1 tennis ranking seems to have backfired for the second year running. The Spaniard has repeatedly voiced his dream of ending the year on the top of the ATP rankings, only to suffer a great loss of form towards the end of the calendar.

Alcaraz’s 2024 season up until the Olympics was a huge success, having won back-to-back Grand Slams at Roland-Garros and Wimbledon. The 21-year-old made it to the quarter-finals of the Australian Open beforehand, which was won by Italian rival Jannik Sinner to mark his own first Grand Slam triumph.

Earlier this month, Alcaraz expressed his aim of securing the world No.1 spot by year-end. The Spaniard was steadily closing in on Sinner in the Race to Turin - the rankings which reflect players' points accumulated throughout the year, differing them from the ATP rankings.

But since making those comments, Alcaraz's form has taken a drastic hit, suffering a shock second-round exit at the US Open on Thursday night. He lost 6-1 7-5 6-4 to unseeded Botic van de Zandschulp in a major upset at Flushing Meadows, where he had clinched his first Grand Slam title in 2022.

A shaky start and later several unforced errors resulted in his first second-round loss in a major since Wimbledon 2021, where the then-world No.75 was beaten by Daniil Medvedev. The four-time Grand Slam winner still sits second in the Race to Turin behind Sinner.

That comes despite the Murcian talent openly admitting just weeks ago that he was targeting the No.1 spot. “Obviously being No.1 is a goal every time that I am [behind] and the race is an important ranking for me. At the end of the year, if you end the race No.1, in the rankings [it is] quite similar, so you're going to end the No.1,” Alcaraz told the ATP.

“So I'm really focused on that. I'm focused on going to every tournament, thinking about playing great tennis, doing a good result just to get better in the race, and this year, ending the year as No.1 is one of my main goals right now. So I'm looking forward to doing it and let's see.”

He added prior to the Cincinnati Open: “I’m fighting for being No.1 in the race, that's something that I really want to do as soon as possible, if I could do it in the future. This one is a really important tournament, really good tournament for me. So I'm going to try to play good tennis, try to play same level as I was playing, and let's see.”

Aside from his US Open upset, Alcaraz also faltered in Cincinnati earlier this month, losing to Gael Monfils in the opening round. Following just his third loss since the end of May, he smashed his racket in a rare loss of temper and dubbed it the “worst match I have ever played in my career”.

His sudden unexpected slump may stem from looking too far ahead and adding unnecessary stress to himself - not for the first time. Last year, his ambition of claiming the No.1 spot became a constant theme as he frequently shared his goal of overtaking then-leader Djokovic, even admitting that he thought about the Serb and the top spot every time he practised.

Alacaraz went on to have a dismal end to the season, suffering early exits and failing to reach any finals. He lost three matches in a row for the first time since March 2021, crashing out in the round of 16 in Shanghai and losing his opening matches at the Paris Masters and the ATP Finals.

He said after falling short of securing the year-end No.1 title in 2023: "I have to improve to reach this point of the year in better condition, especially on a mental level. Probably tiredness and mental exhaustion, from being in a fairly high demand for so long."

Alcaraz will need to hone in on the same mindset that won him two Grand Slams in order to bounce back and overcome his worrying trend. The chance for redemption is still within reach, with several more ATP tournaments lying ahead and Sinner leading by 1,090 points.