“We appreciate his game but Grand Slams are different” Novak Djokovic points out the biggest disadvantage in Carlos Alcaraz’s chances of winning the 2022 French Open
Follow Us
Novak Djokovic and Carlos Alcaraz
World No. 1 Novak Djokovic has returned to Grand Slam action and has brought his best form along shrugging all the difficulties from the start of the season to peak at the best time. Being the defending champion at the 2022 French Open, Djokovic is already in the fourth round and is yet to drop a set and has played only one tiebreaker yet in his three wins.
In the third round, he defeated Aljaz Bedene 6-3, 6-3, 6-2 to book his place in the Round of 16 as the business end of the Grand Slam approaches slowly. With doubts being placed on whether Novak could be a title contender given his lack of match time this season, he has come out all guns blazing and looks in perfect shape to retain the title and join rival Rafael Nadal in the 21-Grand Slam titles Club.
Threatening Novak’s chances is Spanish teenager Carlos Alcaraz who currently leads the ATP Tour with the most titles won. With 2 Masters titles already this season and given his better adaptability on the surface in Paris, many have named Alcaraz as their title favourite. Carlitos has also made it to the fourth round thus further boosting his chances but Novak isn’t ready to label the teen as the title favourite.
“Carlos Alcaraz has surprised everyone”: Novak Djokovic
Having tasted a defeat at the hands of Alcaraz during their semi-final encounter in the 2022 Madrid Masters where Alcaraz won his second Masters title, Djokovic is aware of the talent and potential of the Spaniard who has already broken into the Top-10 having started the season outside the Top-30 and had talked about his season goal being to be ranked in the Top-10.
“In Alcaraz’s case, I mean, obviously, he has surprised everyone with his results this year. It’s, you know, he deserved it, obviously, is a hardworking guy, very talented. You know, we all praise him a lot. Now it’s time to go back to ourselves. We do appreciate his game and what he’s bringing to tennis. No, no doubt. But, you know, Grand Slam is different, playing best of five. So, of course, the experience that Rafa and I have and guys like Tsitsipas and Zverev that have been already there for a few years could help.
“But it’s not necessarily, I think, the deciding factor in who is gonna take the win or take the match. You could see that both Alcaraz and Zverev struggled, both of them on last round saving match points. So you know you can’t take anything for granted. You can’t underestimate any opponent. As I said, Grand Slam really awakens, uh, the biggest motivation and inspiration to play your best for every single player,” said Djokovic speaking with Eurosport.
Djokovic and Alcaraz are likely semi-finals opponents if they win their next two rounds. In the fourth round, Djokovic will take on Argentine Diego Schwartzman while Alcaraz will take on Karen Khachanov in their round of 16 clash.
Follow our page FirstSportz Tennis for the latest updates
Stay Updated!
Sarthak Shitole
(3462 Articles Published)