Novak Djokovic believes Carlos Alcaraz deserves to return to the numero uno spot in the ATP Pepperstone rankings. Alcaraz snatched the number one spot from Djokovic after winning the Indian Wells. The Spaniard bested Daniil Medvedev in the finals in straight sets.

Djokovic, on the other hand, could not take part in the BNP Paribas Open, owing to his vaccination status. Meanwhile, Alcaraz had a dream run at the Indian Wells as he didn’t even drop a single set on his way to the title.

Alcaraz now has 7420 rating points under his bag while Djokovic, placed second in the rankings, has a total of 7160 points. However, the young Spaniard will need to defend his title in the Miami Open to keep his place at the top of the rankings.

“So I congratulate Alcaraz. He absolutely deserves to come back to number one,” Djokovic was quoted as saying to CNN.

On the other hand, Djokovic hasn’t been able to take part in the US tournaments because he hasn’t received his shot against Covid-19. However, the Serbian has no regrets regarding the same.

“I have no regrets. I’ve learned through life that regrets only hold you back and basically make you live in the past. I don’t want to do that. I also don’t want to live too much in the future. I want to be as much as in the present moment but of course think about future, create a better future,” Djokovic added.

Meanwhile, Alcaraz was delighted after taking the top spot in the rankings and winning Indian Wells.

“It means a lot to me. To recover the No. 1 [ranking] is crazy for me,” Alcaraz said in his on-court interview.

“But especially to lift the trophy here for me means a lot… I love this tournament. I really enjoy my time here and of course, I felt the love from the people from day one. For me, it’s amazing to complete these 10 days like this.”

Alcaraz will face Argentina’s Facundo Bagnis in the opening round of the ongoing Miami Open on Friday.