“I want to…,” ATP pro reveals why he’s so desperate to face Novak Djokovic for 1st time in his career
World No.7 Novak Djokovic recently fell to Matteo Berrettini 7-6(4), 6-2 in the first round of the Dubai Open.
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Novak Djokovic (Image via X)
Francisco Comesana‘s one wish is to face Novak Djokovic. He has never met the Serb who has reached the twilight of his career and is already struggling to win matches.
Djokovic’s biggest rivals, the two members of the Big 3, Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal, have already called time on their career and Nole too would follow suit, if not in the near future. Comesana, the 24-year-old from Argentina, never faced any member of the Big 3. He wishes to lock horns with the 24-time Grand Slam champion before he hangs up his racket.
I would love to play Djokovic before he retires. I don’t know when that will be. I miss Federer. I never had the chance to share a locker room with him. I did it with Nadal, but I never had the chance to play against him and he was always far away. Now I share some draws with Djokovic. He’s the one I want to challenge.
Francisco Comesana told Clay Tenis
Following his Argentina Open first-round exit, Comesana progressed to the Rio Open semifinal where he lost to 2025 Hong Kong Open champion Alexandre Muller. En route to the last four, Comesana became the reason behind World No.2 Alexander Zverev‘s exit as the German lost in the quarterfinals with a 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 scoreline.
Francisco Comesana thinks Carlos Alcaraz is playing a lot of matches every year
Carlos Alcaraz has been vocal about the cramped ATP calendar. He said the schedule is one of the reasons behind players falling prey to injuries; and that the calendar could “kill” the players if they continue to play a lot of tournaments every year.
Francisco Comesana, however, said he would want to play every week if only if he’s healthy. He knows that it’s difficult to play matches almost all the time and referenced Alcaraz’s schedule to explain why it’s tough for players if the calendar is too long.
Carlos Alcaraz plays around 70 or 80 matches a year, plus the exhibition events, which I think are a bit too much. Add to that all the travel. Last year, I played between 25 and 30 tournaments, my busiest year so far, and yes, it does get a bit long because we spend so much time away from home.
Francisco Comesana told Clay Tenis
Alcaraz recently lost the Qatar Open quarterfinals to Jiri Lehecka, after clinching his first title of the season at the Rotterdam Open. He is set to play at the Indian Wells next.
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