World No.1 Carlos Alcaraz will return to action after winning the Australian Open, and he is all set to take on Arthur Rinderknech in the opening round of the Qatar Open. After winning the Happy Slam, the Spaniard decided to withdraw from the Rotterdam Open.

Alcaraz admitted a tough draw is being made for the Qatar Open and believes every match brings on a different challenge.

During Alcaraz’s pre-tournament press conference, one reporter asked the Spaniard: “Seems that everybody in every tournament that you and Jannik are playing, that everybody waits for the final.

“So does this kind of thinking please you, or is more stressful for you?”

Alcaraz replied: “Well, neither. I know how difficult is every match. Every match is such a different, our play is totally different.

“I think this draw is a really tough one for a 500 tournament. We can see the first matches how good matches that we have in the first round.”

Players like Daniil Medvedev, Andrey Rublev, Karen Khachanov, and Jakub Mensik are taking part in the Qatar Open.

“So just thinking about, you know, a match at a time, and let’s see how far I can go,” Alcaraz continued.

The youngster said he wants to take one game at a time and not think too far ahead.

“Obviously, my mind is trying to go as far as I can. You know, if it’s possible to play a final, obviously that would be great, and that’s what I’m looking for, so, let’s see.

“I’m not thinking about playing or just putting myself in the finals just too early. I want to think day by day.”

If Alcaraz defeats Rinderknech on Monday, he will face Valentin Royer in the second round.