Carlos Alcaraz: "Would like to see Novak Djokovic in every tournament"
Carlos Alcaraz will go to the Australian Open early next year as number one in the world. The youngster still welcomes his biggest competitor, Novak Djokovic , with open arms.
by Michael Rothschädl
last edit:
Dec 18, 2022, 09:15 am
So they are somewhat similar. A closer look at the words that Rafael Nadal and Carlos Alcaraz found to comment on Novak Djokovic's start at the upcoming Australian Open shows that old and young see this cause almost identically. With Carlos Alcaraz in concrete terms, that sounds like it as follows: "Tennis is better with the best players in the world and it's also good for the fans to see a tournament with the best player. For my part, I want to see Novak play in every tournament," said the 19-year-old .
So when it comes to the crowd of opponents who will face the Spaniard Down Under, the self-motivated view quickly takes a back seat: "I've always said that you have to beat the best to be the best. I'm a Happy guy because I have Novak Djokovic with me on the ATP tour," explained the youngster, who is already preparing for a general attack on his world ranking position: "Of course it will be a little different for me this year if everyone is looking at me aim, and I have to be prepared for that."
Alcaraz vs Djokovic?
It will also be more difficult because Alcaraz was plagued by bad luck with injuries at the end of the 2022 season and even had to miss the Nitto ATP finals and the Davis Cup finals after a task in Paris-Bercy. But now the Spaniard feels back to his old strength, as he emphasized: "I finally feel good. I had a month to recover my stomach (note: Alcaraz injured his abdominal muscle) and now I feel good almost at 100 percent. I trained normally last week and feel very good."
It will also need that, because the teenager is also pursuing big goals on the ATP tour in 2023: "I will try to end 2023 in the same position as now. It will be a long year, but of course I will enjoy it ." Alcaraz will also try to enjoy the duels with Novak Djokovic. The duels with the supposedly toughest competitor, not only in Australia, but also in terms of number one position in the world rankings. What likes: Alcaraz accepts this fight with open arms.