Carlos Alcaraz is the best player on the ATP Tour at the moment, according to world number one Novak Djokovic.
Spanish 19-year-old Alcaraz claimed his fourth title of the season at the Madrid Open on Sunday, defeating world number three Alexander Zverev in the final after overcoming Djokovic and Rafael Nadal in his two previous matches.
The teenager has surged up to a career-high sixth in the world rankings as a result, though he opted against competing at this week's Internazionali d'Italia with the French Open rapidly approaching.
"He definitely is special," said Djokovic, who will begin his campaign in Rome against Aslan Karatsev on Tuesday.
"Already he's breaking a lot of records as a teenager, winning two Masters events this year, a couple of 500s. So far, he's the best player in the world, no question, this year with the results that he's been doing.
"The way he was dealing with the pressure... In our match few days ago, how calm he was all the way until the [end] was impressive.
"He deserved to win the trophy. Everything about his game is really impressive. He's a really complete player, can play equally well offensively and defensively. He's the talk of the sport."
Djokovic is yet to win any silverware this season and possesses a 7-4 record, but feels as though he has turned a corner ahead of Roland Garros, where he beat Stefanos Tsitsipas to win his second French Open title last year.
"I think it's closer to [my] desired level every week," he explained. "Madrid, even though I lost in the semi-finals, I still think I played really good tennis, felt physically 100 per cent, even after an almost three-and-a-half-hour battle against Alcaraz.
"I recovered well the next day, was ready to go. That's a positive and encouraging factor prior to Rome and also, of course, the big goal, which is Paris.
"I think I'm [going] in the right direction. I know I can always play better, and I know that I'm very self-critical on the court. At the same time, realistically looking, I think the tennis, quality of tennis, level of tennis, is really high now.
"Hopefully I can maintain that level throughout this week and build, go deep in this tournament hopefully — that's the goal — and come to Paris well-prepared."
Canada dump Great Britain out of Davis Cup as Shapovalov, Auger Aliassime win
Canada beat Great Britain to ensure their progress to the Davis Cup Final 8 on Sunday, with Denis Shapovalov beating Dan Evans and Felix Auger Aliassime overcoming Jack Draper.
Canada needed just one point from their final group-stage tie, and Shapovalov did the honours at the first time of asking by beating Evans 6-0 7-5.
Shapovalov won 100% of first-serve points as he dominated an opening set that lasted just 27 minutes, and though Evans came back into the encounter in the second set, a break in the final game sealed the deal for Shapovalov.
With Canada's progress secured, Auger Aliassime then added some gloss by overcoming US Open semi-finalist Draper 7-6 (10-8) 7-5 in a fiercely contested affair.
British pair Neal Skupski and Henry Patten beat Gabriel Diallo and Alexis Galarneau 7-6 (7-4) 6-4 in the doubles, but it was of little consequence with their elimination already certain.
Argentina joined Canada in qualifying from Group D with a sweep of Finland, while Italy finished top of Group A in Bologna, thanks to the efforts of Flavio Cobolli.
He beat Tallon Griekspoor 7-6 (7-4) 4-6 6-3 as the Netherlands were forced to settle for second, after Matteo Berrettini had put the defending champions in the driving seat with a 3-6 6-4 6-4 win against Botic van de Zandschulp.
World number one Jannik Sinner was present to support Berrettini, embracing him after he capped his fightback by converting match point.
Australia and Spain had already sealed qualification from Group B prior to Sunday's matches, while the United States and Germany had clinched their progress from Group C.
The Davis Cup Final 8 will take place in Malaga between November 19 and November 24, with Italy hoping to become the first team to defend the title since the Czech Republic in 2013.
'Not my goal at all' - Djokovic not committing to ATP Finals appearance
Novak Djokovic "can't say" if he will compete in the upcoming ATP Finals in November as he becomes more selective about which tournaments he participates in.
The Serbian has struggled with injuries and a lack of form in 2024, and he will finish a calendar year without a grand slam title for the first time since 2017.
His last major triumph came at the US Open last year, but he failed to defend his crown, suffering a shock early exit to Alexei Popyrin in the third round at Flushing Meadows.
Djokovic is just one grand slam trophy away from becoming the outright record holder, currently sitting level with Margaret Court on 24 titles.
He reached the Wimbledon final in July, only to lose out to Carlos Alcaraz, though he did win his first Olympic gold in Paris by beating the Spaniard the following month.
The 37-year-old is currently representing Serbia at the Davis Cup and stressed that he will be prioritising certain tournaments over others.
"Torino is not my goal at all, to be honest, I am not chasing ATP Finals, I am not chasing the rankings etc," he told Serbian reporters after beating Greece's Ioannis Xilas on Saturday.
"As far as I am concerned, I am done with those tournaments for my career. Whether I will play other tournaments this year or in the future, I can't say right now.
"My main priorities are playing for the national team and slams, everything else is less important.
"Weeks like these represent another motivation, they inspire me to keep going, they awake those butterflies in my belly.
"I thought that I would never have to seek motivation anywhere, it all used to come naturally – automatically – but that has not been the case in the last few years.
"In order to prolong my career, I need to enjoy, I need to choose wisely tournaments I am going to play."
Following the Davis Cup, Djokovic will play in an exhibition tournament in Sofia and in the ATP 1000 event in Shanghai at the start of October.
"After that [Shanghai], I am going to see what I am going to do," Djokovic added.
"Usually in my career I used to have my schedule ready six months in advance, but nowadays, that's not the case. Now it's more spontaneous.
"Firstly, I need to physically, emotionally and mentally rest in order to even start thinking what I want to do next, in what way, how much and where."
Djokovic keeps Serbia on track as Ruud seals Norway win
Novak Djokovic marked his return to action with a dominant 6-0 6-1 victory over Greece's Ioannis Xilas to put Serbia in control of the Davis Cup tie.
The 24-time major winner was playing his first match since his US Open third-round defeat by Alexei Popyrin at Flushing Meadows a fortnight ago.
And Djokovic, who helped his nation win the Davis Cup in 2010, looked close to his best as he dropped just a single game, while converting five of the seven break points he forced.
Wrapping up a dominant victory in just 45 minutes, he put Serbia 2-0 to the good in the World Group I tie.
Elsewhere in that group, Casper Ruud helped Norway wrap up a 3-1 win over Portugal.
The three-time major finalist, who put his nation 2-1 to the good alongside Viktor Durasovic in the doubles rubber, was a 7-6 (7-3) 6-2 victor over Jaime Faria in their singles clash.
Later in the day, Argentina booked their place in the final eight after Maximo Gonzalez and Andres Molteni saw off Finland in the doubles decider.
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