Carlos Alcaraz wishes to build his "own history" rather than "take over" from fellow Spaniard Rafael Nadal, having won the ninth title of his career at last week's Barcelona Open.
Alcaraz defended his crown in Catalonia by racing to a 6-3 6-4 win against Stefanos Tsitsipas in Sunday's final, claiming his third title of the 2023 season.
Like his legendary compatriot Nadal, Alcaraz won his first grand slam title at the age of 19, triumphing at the US Open last year.
His hopes of adding to that success at the upcoming French Open could be boosted by the misfortune of his rivals, with both Nadal and Novak Djokovic forced to withdraw from this week's Madrid Open as they battle injuries.
While comparisons between Alcaraz and Nadal are perhaps inevitable, the teenager is determined to do things his own way.
"As I've said on more than one occasion, I don't want to take over from anyone," he said after claiming his latest title.
"I feel lucky to have so many people supporting me, transmitting that positive energy from the first game.
"Speaking of this week, it's been two years that Rafa hasn't been there [in Barcelona]. I've been lucky! But as I've always said, I've always wanted to play against the best.
"It is a pity that we have not been able to enjoy Rafa these last two years. Let's hope he continues playing for a long time and we can enjoy his tennis, but obviously we're not here to take over from anyone, but to build our own history."
With Nadal and Djokovic absent, Alcaraz will be the top seed as he looks to add a 10th career title in Madrid, but he does not see winning in the Spanish capital as the only measure of a successful campaign.
"Not winning Madrid would not be a failure for me, it depends on the level I have shown and the matches," he said.
"All the players are very good, they can all win the title and they can beat me. For me, failure would depend on the level I show and the way I play."
Sinner will only play Roland Garros if '100 per cent' fit
Jannik Sinner says that he is aiming to make a return for Roland-Garros if he is "100 per cent" fit following a hip issue.
The world number two withdrew from the Madrid Open last week ahead of his quarter-final tie with Felix Auger-Aliassime due to the injury.
Sinner confirmed on Saturday that he will not be playing in what would be a home tournament in Rome.
Providing an update on his progress on Sunday, Sinner said: "I went back to Monte-Carlo, we did some more tests, which made me take this hard decision because I have to skip the most special tournament of the year for me.
"I have to accept it even if it hurts me and many fans. We realised something is not totally good. If it is not 100 per cent healed, I'll stay out a little longer. Caring for the body is much more important than everything else.
"I’ll just try to get back to 100 per cent as soon as possible, hopefully trying to play in Paris and then Wimbledon and all the rest.
"We'll take our time, there's no rush and, hopefully, I can get back very, very soon."
Nadal and Djokovic on opposite sides of Italian Open draw
Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic could meet in the Italian Open final after being positioned on opposite sides of the draw.
Nadal, a record 10-time champion at the tournament, could meet reigning champion Daniil Medvedev in the quarter-finals should they both get that far, while newly crowned Madrid Open winner, Andrey Rublev, would be a potential semi-final opponent.
In the top half of the draw, Djokovic will take on either Roman Safiullin or a qualifier in his first competitive appearance since Monte Carlo.
The Serbian, who is just two wins away from his 1100th tour-level career victory, is seeded to face Casper Ruud in the quarter-finals. Alexander Zverev and Grigor Dimitrov are also on their side of the draw.
Meanwhile, top seed Iga Swiatek has been drawn in the opposite half of the draw to Elena Rybakina, the reigning Italian Open champion.
Swiatek is projected to face Coco Gauff in the semi-finals for the second consecutive WTA 1000 event should they both progress.
Rybakina is due to meet second seed Aryna Sabalenka at the same stage, having lost to the Belarusian at last week’s Madrid Open semi-finals.
'It can only get better' - Sabalenka leaving Madrid Open 'with positive thoughts' despite Swiatek defeat
Aryna Sabalenka is encouraged by her run to the Madrid Open final and feels her performance levels "can only get better", despite defeat by Iga Swiatek.
In a repeat of last year's showpiece, the world number two went down 7-5 4-6 7-6 (9-7) in a thrilling encounter with the Pole, who avenged her loss from 12 months ago.
Sabalenka, who saw three championship points go begging, narrowly missed out on becoming only the second woman to win three titles in Madrid after Petra Kvitova.
Nevertheless, the reigning Australian Open champion reached her first final since triumphing in Melbourne, while extending her winning streak in the Spanish capital to 11 matches before defeat to the world number one.
"I really want to see many more finals against [Swiatek]. I want to see more wins than losses," she said. "But I really hope that we'll be able to keep the level or increase the level every year.
"I'm happy with the level I played, with the effort I put into this match and into this week. I'm leaving Madrid with positive thoughts.
"Probably when I broke [Swiatek] in the third set, I should have been more focused on my serve. But at the same time, it's not like I double-faulted; she played great tennis, and she broke me back.
"I think after the Australian Open, I struggled for a couple of months. It's been intense. I'm super happy that, here in Madrid, I was able to bring it all together and be able to get back to my level. It can only get better from now on."
Swiatek was not to be denied a third title of the season - a tally only matched by Elena Rybakina - and she has now won each of her last seven WTA Tour-level finals since losing out to Sabalenka in Madrid last year.
The three-time French Open champion has also now triumphed in every European clay court tournament at WTA 500 level or higher.
"When I look back in maybe a few years, it will mean a lot," the Pole said. "But for now, I'm just happy that I won this tournament anyway. It doesn't matter to me if I won it before or not. I try to win each tournament that I play.
"I think it was more about who was going to be less stressed and who was going to be able to play with more freedom.
"For most of the match, I felt like some decisions [from her] were pretty courageous. I was sometimes a little bit back. So, in the end, I just wanted not to do that and to also be courageous.
"I don't know what made a difference. I think we both deserved to win; I think it was only about those little points in the tiebreaker."
SportsMax is the Caribbean sports channel of choice, committed to providing sporting content of the highest quality to the Caribbean, delivered by a team of highly innovative, passionate and qualified professionals.
(876) 619-7629
digitalmedia@sportsmax.tv
