"I'm going to work on it," the current world No.2 told the media bluntly, when asked about his ambitions in the Californian desert.
“For me to win this tournament and be (world) number one again is a great goal,” added Alcaraz.
The Spaniard can indeed dethrone Djokovic, package at Indian Wells due to his status of not vaccinated against the Covid, if he wins the Californian tournament.
Winner of the US Open last September, Carlos Alcaraz had broken a record of precocity by becoming the youngest world number one in history, at 19 years old.
But, victim of repeated physical glitches, he saw the Serb take back this first place thanks to his 22nd Grand Slam title won in January in Melbourne.
Despite these physical concerns, which again forced him to withdraw last week in Acapulco (Mexico), Carlos Alcaraz showed his confidence when approaching Indian Wells, where he is seeded N.1 and will start in 2nd round against the winner of the match between Australian Thanasi Kokkinakis and American Brandon Holt.
"Of course there are quite a few great players in this roster who have a chance of winning the tournament, but I say I have my chances as well," he proclaimed.
Regarding the series of injuries since last fall, "I'm not worried at all", assured Alcaraz again.
"I do the right thing off the court... I do a good job and sometimes it's just bad luck," he said.
World No.3, and seeded No.2 in Indian Wells, Stefanos Tsitsipas was much less optimistic about his physical condition, claiming to still suffer from a shoulder.
The Greek has been dragging the injury since his lost Australian Open final in January against Djokovic.
Under these conditions, it is the Russian Daniil Medvedev, seeded N.5, who should be one of the great rivals of Alcaraz.
"I had never managed to win three tournaments in a row, so I feel particularly good", noted the Russian, 6th in the world, who has just won in Rotterdam, Doha and Dubai, and is thus undefeated for 14 matches.
© 2023 AFP