Alcaraz: "The pressure of being world number one kind of killed me"

Carlos Alcaraz is in Monte-Carlo and will make his debut this Wednesday against Francisco Cerundolo in a tricky match for the Spaniard.

Although Jannik Sinner will only return for the Rome tournament, Alcaraz already knows he won’t be able to reclaim the world number one spot by then.

Speaking to Spanish media AS, he addressed this: "I’m not surprised I’m no longer number one, even though many still expect me to win everything.

A lot of people have asked me to take advantage of Jannik’s absence to return to the top.

That pressure probably killed me a little. Even if Jannik isn’t playing, the reality is I’m too far behind him.

Many have brought this up. People assumed that just because Sinner was absent, Sascha and I should have won everything or played better.

That’s not normal, especially since the locker room is much more balanced now, and there are far more players capable of making a strong impression in tournaments."