Carlos Alcaraz has made his first official entry for the Asian series in China. He is back on tour after three weeks. Alcaraz was last on court by the fans during his US Open semifinal loss to Daniil Medvedev. The Spaniard grabbed everyone’s attention at the China Open as he spent quality time with a rather young aspiring tennis fan. The young tennis fan was none other than the son of Nicolas Jarry Fillol.
Alcaraz was seen playing with Jarry’s one-and-a-half-year-old son. The 20-year-old was passing a basketball to the kid while he hit it back with a racket in his hand. Alcaraz had an unlikely practice session with the Chilean’s elder son. Jarry also shared the video on Instagram with the caption saying, “Your first pupil,” in Spanish.
Jarry had faced Alcaraz at Wimbledon this season in the third round. Although the 27-year-old lost the match, he fought hard for four hours before exiting the event. Jarry will be facing Stefanos Tsitsipas in the first round at the China Open, while Alcaraz will be facing Yannick Hanfmann in the first match.
Carlos Alcaraz reveals his ranking goals ahead of the China Open
The ATP top spot is now firmly in the hands of Novak Djokovic. After winning the US Open title, he has gained 800 points over Alcaraz but will be dropping events in the next few weeks. The world No.2 will be taking advantage of Djokovic’s withdrawal from the Shanghai Masters 1000. The world No.1 is already set to drop 250 points this week.
Alcaraz can bring the gap to almost 300 points if he takes the title at Beijing. On being asked about the ranking duel with Djokovic, he said, “It’s not obligatory for me to recover that, but of course, you have to put the goals in the year. So for me No. 1 spot is one of the main goals for me,” via ATP tour. Alcaraz has a chance of playing Medvedev in the final, which will pose a tough challenge for him.
👋🏻 Beijing! Con muchas ganas de volver a jugar! 🤩 pic.twitter.com/r19WPu5bLy
— Carlos Alcaraz (@carlosalcaraz) September 26, 2023
Once Djokovic is back on tour, Alcaraz will have a harder time reaching the top of the rankings. The Wimbledon champion will also have to look out for Alexander Zverev. The German is fresh off winning the Chengdu Open so he will be familiar with Asian swing. Reaching the top spot is a golden opportunity for Alcaraz now, but other players also have their goals to be achieved at the China Open.
