Tennis News: Carlos Alcaraz wants to dominate grass courts

Carlos Alcaraz aims to win more Grand Slams but derailing Djokovic's bid to defend the title next year would be remarkable. 

"I want more," said Alcaraz. "To win my second Grand Slam, I would say that's the goal for the new year. Wimbledon would be fine for me. Yeah!." The 19-year-old also expressed his satisfaction with ending the year as number one. 

"It has been a dream season for me. So many titles, big titles. The first one is when I won Miami. When I won Barcelona. US Open. That's for sure. I would say when I realized that I'm going to end as Number One, and when I won Madrid as well," he added.

Why could Carlos Alcaraz finish at the top in 2023 again?

Despite the rise of youngsters like Jannik Sinner, Holger Rune, and Jack Draper, Alcaraz still has the potential to finish at the top. The 19-year-old Spaniard has drawn fans worldwide because of his movement and on-court charisma. 

He can respond to almost impossible shots while maintaining his speed and stamina throughout long matches. In the 2022 US Open, he became the youngest Grand Slam winner since Nadal at the French Open in 2005.

The Spanish right-hander has achieved more than what Nadal's rivals Djokovic and Federer did at the same age. Djokovic won his first Grand Slam at the 2008 Australian Open when he was 20, and Federer won Wimbledon in 2003, aged 21.

His coach Juan Carlos Ferrero who has been actively monitoring his growth, said, "I think he's on 60 percent of his game. He knows and I know that we have to keep working."

It means that he still has tremendous potential waiting to be unlocked. So 2023 could be when Alcaraz treads on higher ground and achieves many more milestones. 

Nick Kyrgios drops retirement hint in 2023

Australian Nick Kyrgios recently made an implication about his possible retirement in 2023. The in-form world number 22 hopes to maintain his rhythm heading into the Australian Open 2023 and has expressed his desire to win a Grand Slam in 2023. 

In addition, he declared that he might retire from tennis if he managed to win a major. He was spotted at the World Tennis League exhibition in Dubai joking about it. "Hopefully, I can win a Slam and just retire," he remarked.

He looked back at his performance in 2022 and said, "I had a lot of fun this season. I'm finally just proud to say that I made a Slam final and started living up to the expectations but I had a lot of fun."

Kyrgios is also wary of people pinning their expectations on him if he wins a tournament. Before his playful remark at the World League, he was seen making similar declarations earlier this year. 

After beating Daniil Medvedev to reach the quarterfinals of the US Open 2022, he said, "Three more matches potentially… then we never have to play Tennis again."

Kyrgios entered the year as number 93 in the world in singles, but he climbed to number 20 in September. He reached his first Grand Slam final at Wimbledon this year, where he lost to Novak Djokovic.

Then he won his first-ever singles title at the Citi Open. In doubles, he won three titles, including the Australian Open in 2022.