Carlos Alcaraz says he has refused to let his Wimbledon finals loss to Jannik Sinner wipe the smile from his face as he prepares for his start at the ATP-WTA Cincinnati Masters.
The world No 2, who was defeated in a Grand Slam final for the first time in his career in London last month, spent his first full day at the Cincinnati site on Wednesday and said he is ready for a reboot during the second half of the season.
"Even if I lost, I left the court proud after Wimbledon," the 2023 Cincinnati finalist said. "But the goals can change during the second half of the season.
"My goal is to keep doing the right thing and improving. I want to enjoy my time on and off the court.
"But I also want to try and recover the No 1 ranking by the end of the year," he added.
The world No 2, who joined the top-ranked Sinner in skipping the ATP Toronto Masters, said he spent a refreshing three weeks at home in Spain after his Wimbledon defeat.
"I took a week off, not doing anything. Then I started training at home and visiting with friends and family. Just being at home in the summer - I couldn't believe it.
"I tried to make the most of my time. I wanted to come strong to Cincy."
Alcaraz, who beat Sinner in the French Open final before falling to the Italian at Wimbledon, said he is "happy to be building such a rivalry.
"We've done a lot in tennis in a short period of time," he said. "People talk about what we have done for the history books. But we have long careers ahead of us.. let's see how far we can go."