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London, June 25 (IANS): Carlos Alcaraz has expressed that the world no. 1 battle with Serbian great Novak Djokovic serves as an "extra motivation" for him in the Queen's Club Championships final.
Alcaraz, who was dethroned from the top spot in the ATP rankings by Djokovic earlier this month after the Serbian won the French Open, will return to the summit if he triumphs at Queen's Club on Sunday.
The No. 1 ranking would also make him the top seed at Wimbledon, which starts on July 3, where Alcaraz will be looking for his second major title, and first on grass.
"It (the No. 1 battle) is helping me a lot. It is an extra motivation for me. During the match I am not thinking about that, but it is an extra motivation for me to go into the final with extra energy, and I am going for it. To be top seed at Wimbledon and No. 1 for me, it is still a dream. It is something that I worked on, to recover the No. 1," the Spaniard was quoted as saying by Eurosport.
He further described his battle for world no. 1 with Djokovic as "a beautiful fight."
"I think Novak and I, we are having a beautiful fight for the No. 1 spot. I am going to go for it and it is crazy for me to be top seed at Wimbledon," said Alcaraz.
Alcaraz is making his first-ever appearance at Queen's this year, marking his third time participating in a grass-court tournament. His previous experiences on grass include reaching the last 16 and the second round at Wimbledon in the past two years.
The 20-year-old surged past Sebastian Korda in Saturday's semi-final with a straight-sets win. Despite being relatively unfamiliar with the grass surface, Alcaraz has been greatly encouraged by his progress in the tournament.
"The thing that I learned the most this week is about how to move. I am moving well on grass right now. I started the week with doubts about movement and about hitting the ball, but right now, as I said, I feel like I have been playing on grass for many years," he said.
In Sunday's final, Alcaraz is up against Australian Alex De Minaur for the trophy and the world no.1 spot.
