Carlos Alcaraz is eager to beat Novak Djokovic in the final of the Australian Open in two week's time, the Spaniard said on Saturday.
Djokovic has won 10 out of 10 Melbourne Park finals which is why the 20-year-old is relishing the prospect of winning his first Australian Open title by beating the Serb on Rod Laver Arena.
"It's an extra motivation for me. I'm an ambitious guy. I always want to play against the best players in the world to see what is my level," Alcaraz told reporters.
"Obviously it's a good test, playing against him in the tournament where he's almost unbeaten. I'm looking to reach the final and hopefully playing a final against him. It would be great obviously.
"But, yeah, knowing those stats, it's an extra motivation, for sure."
Being the top two seeds, Djokovic and Alcaraz could meet in the final on January 28 if neither was knocked out in an earlier round.
Qualifying for the final would be a remarkable improvement for Alcaraz, who has never made it beyond the third round in his two trips to Melbourne.
He didn’t feature in the tournament last year with a hamstring injury as Djokovic won his 10th title.
Alcaraz arrived in Australia without coach Juan Carlos Ferrero and didn’t feature in any warm-up events.
"I think I'm a guy who doesn't need so much competition before a big tournament," he added.
"Obviously (it) always helps (but) I think I'm prepared to do a good things here in the Grand Slam."
Alcaraz also shed light on how he and others such as Holger Rune and Jannik Sinner were forming the basis of a "new generation".
Crucially, Alcaraz is the only one of the trio who has bagged a Grand Slam after his 2022 U.S. Open win and his victory over Djokovic in last year's Wimbledon final.
"On the court, off the court. I think everybody can be better. Everybody can improve their things. I'm not perfect, so I have to improve a lot of things on the court and off the court, as well," he said.
"I think this year, it's going to be a good one," he added with a smile.