Carlos Alcaraz is set to return to action on red classy courts in South America and there is a good reason why he is getting in practice on the surface at this early stage of the tennis season.
The Wimbledon champion has opted to play in Buenos Aires at the Argentina Open this week, as he follows a similar schedule to last year that included an appearance at this event.
He went on to play in Brazil before winning the Indian Wells ATP 1000 event at the start of March and he will be looking for more success of that nature over the next few weeks.
Yet while Grand Slam wins are crucial to building a legacy for any tennis player, Alcaraz has revealed he has set his heart on a different prize for 2024.
The Olympic Games tennis event will be staged at Roland Garros in Paris and world No 2 Alcaraz has marked that in his diary as his most important challenge for this year.
When asked what tournament he wants to win more than any other, he offered up this response: “I would say the Olympic title. For me, it is a dream to bring a medal to my country, to Spain, and winning gold is one of the greatest things that can happen to you in the world of sport in general.
“This year, if you gave me a choice, I would say that I will keep the Olympic gold. Although I would like to win both (the French Open and the Olympics), I’m not going to lie.
“I am a boy who dreams big, I am very ambitious and I target the best in the world and the best in history.
“That’s what motivates me to give my 100% day to day and to go to the tournaments to be able to win them.”
Alcaraz was the star performer on the ATP Tour in the first half of 2023, but he has fallen off his pedestal a little over the last few months, as he admits world No 1 Novak Djokovic and new Australian Open champion Jannik Sinner are the men he needs to beat to get back on top.
“I think Djokovic and Sinner are the rivals to beat, there is no doubt, both for me and for everyone,” he added.
“(Alexander) Zverev also has the winning head-to-head record against me. He is a rival that I have very much in mind, but I do think that Djokovic and Sinner are at the top right now.
“I’m a very competitive, very ambitious guy. I always want to win everything, it is what drives me to continue training at my highest level, to continue going to the tournaments with a lot of desire to get more titles.
“Seeing Djokovic up there, the players who are winning titles now, is something that motivates me to be able to be at the same level as them; also speaking of the Big Three, it motivates me to get closer to them.
“My current level is very good, I’m playing with a lot of confidence, at a good level. I’ve just come from playing good tennis in Australia, my training days on clay have been very good, I’m physically at a very high level.
“I’ve always been very ambitious, I want to win everything, that’s what drives me to continue at the highest level.
“Some small things I have improved. The off-court is very important and influences the on-court, that’s something I’m improving.
“Very important for the issue of injuries is nutrition, rest. Something that maybe before, which is logical because of my age, I missed a little bit and I didn’t do it.
“Little by little we are improving. Those little things off the court avoid injuries for sure, it’s something I’m taking into account for this year.”