Carlos Alcaraz has revealed that he is aiming to surpass Novak Djokovic’s total of Grand Slam titles after winning the French Open. Alcaraz fought hard to earn a five-set victory over Alexander Zverev and claim his third major title, having previously won the US Open and Wimbledon.
The young Spaniard has a long way to go before matching Djokovic, who has tasted Grand Slam glory on 24 occasions with his latest title coming at last year’s US Open. Quizzed on his hopes of catching up with the Serb, Alcaraz revealed that it was a goal of his but added that he was not allowing himself to think about it just yet.
„I don’t know, I hope so,“ said Alcaraz. „Well, I talked to Juan Carlos [Ferrero, his coach] yesterday. Before facing this final, he told me, you’re going to fight for your third Grand Slam title, with everything you have been through, and you know the difficult part of winning a Grand Slam, and Djoko has 24.
„It is unbelievable. Right now I can’t think about it. I just want to keep going, and let’s see how many Grand Slams I’m gonna take at the end of my career. Hopefully reach the 24, but right now I’m going to enjoy my third one, and let’s see in the future.“
Alcaraz’s triumph at the French Open saw him leapfrog Djokovic in the world rankings, with the latter slipping to third after pulling out of his semi-final against Casper Ruud. Jannik Sinner, who was beaten by Alcaraz in the last four, sits at the top of the pile.
It was not all plain sailing for Alcaraz in the final, with Zverev winning the second and third sets to give the 21-year-old plenty of work to do. He also played through pain to get the job done after calling for a medical timeout in the fourth set due to an issue with his leg.
„It’s something that I started to feel in the semi-final,“ explained Alcaraz. „Of course playing five sets, really demanding one against Jannik on clay, after that match, you’re gonna feel something. If not, you’re not human. So that’s obvious.
„I started the match without any pain, without feeling it. Of course I was taking care about it with taping on that. And at the end of the third set, beginning of the fourth one, I started to feel a little bit, so that’s why I called the physio just for precaution. Then I could move well. I mean, I started to feeling better and better.
„Then the physio came a few times more because it was cramping, having difficult physical problems or difficult moments. But anyway, I could deal it with the best way possible and could finish the match with good feelings.“