According to Alcaraz, Djokovic's "beautiful battle" motivates him.

 Prior to his return to competition this week in Beijing, world number two Alcaraz declared that he would consider winning every time he trained and competed in an effort to catch up to Djokovic.

The 20-year-old Spaniard said on Wednesday that he is looking forward to his "beautiful battle" with Novak Djokovic for the year's top spot. He added that it will give him more incentive for the China Open.

Alcaraz has been Djokovic's major rival this year, and he defeated him in the Wimbledon final, but the all-conquering Serb overtook him to take the top spot on the way to winning his 24th Grand Slam championship overall at this month's U.S. Open.

Prior to his return to competition this week in Beijing, world number two Alcaraz declared that he would consider winning every time he trained and competed in an effort to catch up to Djokovic.

After Novak's outstanding performance in America, where he won in Cincinnati and Flushing Meadows, Alcaraz told reporters, "We have a really wonderful struggle to be world number one.

He's number one right now, so I'm particularly motivated to try to overtake him and win the race when I arrive here. I keep it in mind whenever I exercise and consider it before every competition.

We need to make goals for the year, but I'm not required to get it back. One of my main goals is to be ranked first, therefore I'm going to fight for it in these major competitions and attempt to do well to get close and regain it.

In a competitive Beijing field, Alcaraz is joined by a number of well-known athletes, including world No. 3 Daniil Medvedev, who defeated him in the U.S. Open semifinals.

The Spaniard will face German qualifier Yannick Hanfmann in the opening round of his tournament.