Carlos Alcaraz keeping his foot firmly on the accelerator in 2023
- Doug Mattushek
- 12 February 2023
Tennis' new kid on the block Carlos Alcaraz is under no illusions as to the challenge that awaits him in 2023.
The young Spaniard enjoyed a meteoric rise to the top of the men's game in 2022, amassing five titles - including a maiden grand slam at the US Open - on his way reaching to world number one.
But his season was somewhat curtailed by an oblique tear last November, forcing him out of the Paris Masters, ATP Finals and the first grand slam of the year last month, the Australian Open.
As he prepares to return to the court, Alcaraz admitted that he will have to continue to evolve his game if he is to compete with the likes of new world number one Novak Djokovic, the indomitable Rafael Nadal and the tremendously talented Stefanos Tsitsipas.
"I'm certain that I need to continue to improve," the 19-year-old told
atptour.com.
"Achieving my dream very quickly caught me by surprise, so to speak. Now I'm used to it, I have a goal, I know where I want to get to, what I want to be, and that is the most important thing.
"I'm very young and I have a lot of things to improve, despite being the No. 1. You have to keep training and looking forward."
Alcaraz is set to make his return on the clay courts of the Argentina Open from 13 February, which features the likes of Cameron Norrie and local talent Diego Schwartzman.
"It'll be my first tournament since I picked up the injury in Paris," said Alcaraz, who admitted it will be difficult to find his feet after the long break.
"It's been four months since then. But I always arrive thinking about winning and wanting to win, even though it won't be easy after such a long time without competing."
