Carlos Alcaraz confirms his intention to dethrone Novak Djokovic in Roland-Garros blow against the Serb

Carlos Alcaraz has shared his plans to snatch the world No. 1 ranking from Novak Djokovic. After defending his title at the Madrid Open, the 20-year-old will dethrone the Serb as long as he plays the Rome Masters, which he confirmed on Sunday. This also means that Alcaraz will be the number one seed at Roland Garros against two-time champion Djokovic.

Alcaraz enjoyed another successful week playing at home in Spain, where they are now unbeaten since 2021. The world number 2 lifted their 10th career trophy in Madrid on Sunday, successfully defending the title they won 12 months ago.

That leaves him just five points behind Djokovic in the official ATP rankings, with the 35-year-old tasked with defending his own title at the Rome Masters over the next fortnight. And Alcaraz is guaranteed to overtake the current world number 1, as he will receive 10 ranking points just by playing in Italy.

The Spaniard didn't play in the Italian Open last year so he has no points to defend and earns 10 just for his competition as he was given a bye for the second round. Meanwhile, Djokovic can only drop points or keep the 1,000 he earned by winning the title last year.

And Alcaraz has doubled down on his plans to play in Roma after winning the title in Madrid, as he previously confirmed that was his intention earlier in the week. "These are great achievements for me," he said of his Madrid Open win.

"This is my 10th title, my fourth Masters 1000." Alcaraz was well aware that he was closing in on the top spot, confirming his intention to make his Roma debut. He added: "Defending the title here in Madrid, on the verge of regaining number 1, are very big things.

"I am very proud of the work and the achievements I am doing. I am an ambitious boy and we will be leaving for Rome. This means that the 20-year-old will return to world number 1 on May 22 after the conclusion of the final of the Swing Masters on clay.

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This ranking also guarantees him a seeded spot at Roland-Garros, while Djokovic will be the second seed at best. This gives Alcaraz an even bigger boost at Roland Garros, where he is arguably the current favorite given Djokovic and Rafael Nadal's recent injury problems.

The 10-time title winner is unbeaten on European clay this season and has only lost two matches all year: the Rio final and the Miami semi-final. He also hasn't played in a Grand Slam tournament since winning the US Open, which means he's on a seven-game winning streak at the Majors.

And Alcaraz has already publicly set his sights on winning Roland-Garros. At the Miami Masters earlier this year he said: "Roland Garros is the next Grand Slam and for me it's a very, very good goal and I'm really looking forward to it."

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