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“Ending the year as No.1 is one of my main goals right now” : Carlos Alcaraz sets clear year-end goal Carlos Alcaraz has been in red hot form throughout the year, having already accomplished another grand slam title (Wimbledon) and most recently an Olympics silver medal at Paris. After taking a short break from this ‘loss’, the Spaniard has his eyes set on the ATP rankings. The world No.3 will be participating in the Cincinnati Open, the same tournament where he suffered a loss in the final to rival Novak Djokovic last year. The Spaniard went down fighting in a three set thriller which became an instant classic. The current world No.1 Jannik Sinner has doubts regarding participation in this tournament, as the Italian has not yet fully recovered from his injury. While the world No.2 is on a high after winning the Olympics gold medal and has ruled himself out of the competition in order to get some well-deserved rest. This feels like the perfect opportunity for Alcaraz, who is only 450 points behind the top ranking. “Obviously being No. 1 is a goal every time that I am [behind] and the race is an important ranking for me, at the end of the year, if you end the race No. 1, in the rankings [it is] quite similar, so you’re going to end the No.1. So I’m really focused on that. I’m focused on going to every tournament, thinking about playing great tennis, doing a good result just to get better in the race. This year, ending the year as No. 1 is one of my main goals right now. So I’m looking forward to doing it and let’s see,” said the 21-year-old (via Eurosport). Carlos Alcaraz aims to win matches while playing ‘great tennis’ The Spaniard has won 20 out of the 22 matches he has played since the French Open, with his only losses coming against Jack Draper in Queen’s and the most recent Olympics final against the Serbian. But only winning is not enough for the youngster, as the standard which he has set for himself aims that he needs to win while also playing quality tennis, although he is glad to have overcome tough situations during matches even while not living up to his golden standard. “I’ve been playing great tennis, but probably most of the matches I won, I won them without playing great tennis, or I felt like I didn’t play really great tennis, so the way that I approach every match, I stay there strong mentally in some situations, I’m really, really happy about that. [I’m happy] about the way that I [handled] some situations, that I stayed there, even knowing that I didn’t play, or I wasn’t playing great tennis. But [I played] with a positive attitude, with the right face always, and trying to find solutions in some moments that I could do it. I’m really happy about it,” the Spainard added. Carlos Alcaraz will be looking to perform consistently for the rest of the year in order to achieve the world No.1 ranking, and the Cincinnati Open would be the perfect way to start as the Spainard has good memories of the tournament from last year. “I’m excited to play here again. I’m really happy to be back. Obviously great memories from last year, reaching the final, losing a really tight and epic match. This is a tournament that I love playing and yeah, excited to start the tournament.” Alcaraz concluded. Carlos Alcaraz’s opening match in the Cincinnati Open will be against either Gael Monfils or Alexei Popyrin, as he will be hoping for a deep run in order to gain more points and increase confidence ahead of the US Open on August 26. Also Read: “He is the man to beat at the US Open” : Former coach says Novak Djokovic will not stop after Olympic gold

Who has won the most gold medals in singles at the Summer Olympics? Tennis was introduced in the Summer Olympics back in 1896 and it was contested until 1924. After a hiatus of about 64 years, it was brought back as a full medal sport in 1988. Since then Tennis has been played in full swing in this tournament in 4 types: Men’s Singles, Men’s Doubles, Women’s Singles and Women’s Doubles. The 5th type Mixed Doubles was introduced back in 2012.  After this brief period, many records have been made and broken, but there was one record that has stood out since 2016. The record is the highest number of gold medals that has been won in Tennis Singles events at the Summer Olympics, and it was set by Andy Murray. He won a gold medal in both the 2012 and 2016 editions of the men’s tennis singles. Since then Andy Murray is the only men’s player to have won two singles gold medals. Moreover, his winning streak also included a silver medal in mixed doubles at the 2012 Summer Olympics alongside Laura Robson for Great Britain. Andy Murray has the most number of gold medals in Singles at Summer Olympics Andy Murray will also participate in the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris. He will be making his fifth Olympic appearance, and is expected to compete in singles tennis as part of Great Britain’s team. Andy Murray’s presence displays his continued dedication to competitive tennis despite nearing the end of his career. Another prime candidate who is eyeing to equalize the record is Rafael Nadal. He has appeared in the 2008 and 2016 editions of the Olympics. He won the gold medal in men’s singles tennis at the 2004 Beijing Olympics. Though he couldn’t quite manage to continue his winning streak, he will be looking forward to turning this around in the 2024 edition of the Summer Olympics. Now on the female tennis circuit, though gold medals were won many times, no one quite held it more than once. However, the most notable winners among them are the sisters Serena and Venus Williams. They ruled the tennis fields of the Summer Olympics tournament for quite some time as they both acquired a gold medal each in the Summer Olympics, however, it was the doubles side of the tennis where they truly shined by clinching together the gold medal thrice.  Also Read: “I have to keep my mouth shut and just listen to him”: Carlos Alcaraz on teaming up with Rafael Nadal at Paris Olympics

“The team asked me to do it, and I did it” : Lando Norris on letting Oscar Piastri through at the Hungarian GP McLaren secured their first 1-2 finish of the season, as Oscar Piastri claimed his first ever F1 race victory in Hungary. Lando Norris finished P2, as McLaren claimed maximum points from the weekend to cut the gap of Red Bull in the Constructors championship. However, there was no shortage of drama at the Hungarian GP, as Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri swapped positions in final laps of the Hungarian GP. British driver Lando Norris was given the track position with the objective of swapping positions with Oscar Piastri, who was leading the race when the pit stop was made. Lando Norris seemed to initially decline the team orders suggesting to swap positions with the Australian. However, after some serious communication from the McLaren team, the Briton finally gave up his place. After the race, Lando Norris stated that he let the Australian through, as the team instructed him to do so. “The team asked me to do it, and I did it,” said Norris. “A long way clear of the rest” : Lando Norris on McLaren’s success this season Lando Norris put away personal matters on the side, and stated that it was a great day for the team to claim a 1-2 finish. McLaren have been the improved team on the grid, as the season has progressed. They have regularly competed for wins, and look the fastest car on the grid at the moment. “Amazing day for us as a team, that’s the main thing. A long journey to achieving this on merit, and a long way clear of the rest. Oscar got me off the line, it’s been coming and he deserved it today,” added Lando Norris. Oscar Piastri stated that the switch was well managed by the team, even if it was left a little too late. The Australian driver becomes the seventh driver to win a race this season, as he believes that car has been doing wonders for both drivers currently. “The longer you leave it [to switch], the more you get a bit nervous but yeah I think it was the right thing, I put myself in the right position at the start and yes, my pace wasn’t what I wanted in the last stint but well managed by the team,” the Australian added. Also Read: “I was surprised by Lewis Hamilton’s congratulations because he had never written to me” : Carlos Alcaraz on receiving text from seven-time F1 champion Also Read: “No way he would have left” : George Russell says Lewis Hamilton casts doubt on Lewis Hamilton’s Ferrari move