Novak Djokovic believes Carlos Alcaraz is ‘the guy to beat’ on clay apart from Rafael Nadal

The Rome Masters has picked up speed as the top seeds have done well so far. Viewers of the game are in for a real treat as they are seeing some high-quality tennis on display. Tennis desperately needed this after an unusual and controversial week in Madrid.

The one big possibility of the 2023 edition is that fans now have a great chance to see a cracker of a final. The current World No. 1 Novak Djokovic and World No. 2 Carlos Alcaraz are looking solid and certainly in contention to play the finale.

It’s still a long way though as both still find themselves in the Round of 16. However, the possibility of that happening has kept the fans really excited. The other thing that’s fueled this has been the strange fact that both Djokovic and Alcaraz haven’t found themselves in the same draw this year.

After his grueling three-set win over Grigor Dimitrov, Djokovic was asked about Alcaraz and the potential battle they could have. “Yea, it’s strange that we weren’t in the same draw this season and that happened because of the circumstances. And if we face each other here it would be in the finals and we would sign up for that straight away. Look he has been playing some great tennis. On clay he is the guy to beat other than Nadal who is the King of Clay.“

“He has been playing so consistently well on all the surfaces. And that’s very impressive for someone of his age and how he deals with things off court. However, he is going to have a lot more pressures and expectations the more he will build his profile as a tennis champion. People will follow him more so there is a different dimension to the tennis career,” said the Serb. “So far so good for him until we meet in the final,” joked Djokovic as he finished praising the young sensation.

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A look back at the Djokovic-Alcaraz Rivalry

Undoubtedly, the three big rivals that Novak Djokovic had in his career were Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer, and Andy Murray. He played them in really long matches at the greatest events in the world of tennis. However, in recent times, there is this rivalry brewing between him and Carlos Alcaraz. The two champions have only played each other once. Although that meeting was enough to suggest how highly competitive this would get if they meet more often.

They met each other at the 2022 Madrid Open semifinal. Alcaraz was coming off a thrilling three-set win over Rafael Nadal in the quarter-final. There was no respite as his semi-final opponent was an in-form Djokovic. Djokovic took the first set 7-6 and looked strong to take the match in straight sets. However, the Spaniard fought back and clinched the second 7-5. Djokovic was still the favorite going into the third, considering how mentally strong he is.

Both men were not ready to drop serve as the match went into a third-set tie breaker. To everyone’s surprise, the Spaniard pipped the Serb and confirmed a spot in the final. He became the first player to beat Nadal and Djokovic in back-to-back games. That one game was enough to show the world how it is when top-class players compete. Both of them have a chance to do something similar in Rome this time around. Can they do it?

In case you missed it:

• “It’s sinking me more and more,” Caroline Garcia breaks down in tears expressing frustration over her ‘nightmare’ poor run on the tour
• Holger Rune dismisses John McEnroe’s notion of him getting the reputation of a ‘bad boy’

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