Alcaraz had an opportunity to make up some points on Djokovic during the Asian swing, when the 24-time Grand Slam champion was taking a break. But the 20-year-old crashed out in the semi-final of the China Open and lost in the round of 16 at the Shanghai Masters.
And the current world No 2 was well aware that his disappointing defeats hindered his chances of overtaking Djokovic. “It’s going to be tougher, if I want to be No 1. I have a few tournaments ahead, so I’ll try to do my best. I’ll try to, you know, win them, if I want to have a chance to end the year as No 1. I don’t know, but right now I lose a lot of opportunities to make it,” he said after his Shanghai loss.
With Djokovic now defending 600 points in Paris and 1,500 in Turin, Alcaraz will be hoping that he can just edge out the Serb to finish the season on top for the second year in a row.
