No. 1 ranking is "main goal" for Carlos Alcaraz as he looks to make push in Shanghai debut

As Carlos Alcaraz prepares to make his Shanghai Rolex Masters debut this weekend, he has one target of note on the brain.

The 20-year-old is currently ranked No. 2, but sits well behind Novak Djokovic for the top spot. The Serbian leads by 2,830 points, though Shanghai offers Alcaraz a chance to cut his deficit by 1,000 points with Djokovic not playing the event.

“Honestly, the tournaments that I have already had, I'm thinking about the No. 1, be able to earn the No. 1. For me, that's the main goal for right now to the end of the season,” Alcaraz said in a pre-tournament press conference.

“Let's see. But as well to learn, I'm going to say from the failures that probably I could experience. I learn from that and learning how can I be better every day or every practice that's the main thing for me, but obviously, the No. 1 is on my mind as well.”

In his race for year-end No. 1 with the 24-time major winner, Alcaraz has 360 points remaining from his 2022 results to defend—a semifinal in Basel and quarterfinal at the Paris Masters. Djokovic's haul is more significant at 2,600, highlighted by 1,500 from his perfect display at last year's ATP Finals in Turin. A further 600 stems from his runner-up finish in Paris-Bercy and 500 will drop from Astana.

Alcaraz is coming off his first ATP appearance in China, where he reached the semifinals of Beijing. The top seed was ultimately outclassed by Jannik Sinner, who backed up the victory by defeating Daniil Medvedev for the first time in seven meetings.

“I watch it a little bit, not the whole match. I wasn't surprised at all,” he said. “I know the capacity of Jannik. I know his level. He's one of the best in the world right now and he can beat anyone. I'm not surprised about the final.

“Really happy for him, but honestly, I expect him to win, honestly, because the level that he was playing was unbelievable.”

Alcaraz has reached the semifinals or better at 12 of the 14 tournaments he’s contested this season. He opens his latest campaign against Gregoire Barrere in the second round. Shanghai’s main draw will be played over 12 days for the first time as part of the ATP's calendar restructuring vision that began implementation this year.