During the days of Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer’s dominance in men’s tennis, it was said that Novak Djokovic always thought about them from morning till night. But now the table seems to have shifted a little and youngsters like Carlos Alcaraz are spending their time thinking about Djokovic, discussing his dominance and perhaps looking for ways to stop the Serbian from repeating what he did this season.
In 2023, Carlos Alcaraz won only five titles out of twelve tournaments he played in which is way below Novak Djokovic’s 7 out of 9 competitions.
Carlos Alcaraz wants to stop Djokovic’s dominance
Carlos Alcaraz, who has been in Mexico City for an exhibition match and was due to take on American Tommy Paul. Alcaraz has promised that he will do everything to ruin Djokovic’s lofty ambition of winning more titles next year and made this known to Tennis Majors in a brief interview.
“Djokovic said he was ready to win the four Grand Slams and Olympic gold, but we’re here to stop him,” Carlos Alcaraz said.
Perhaps, it is Jannik Sinner’s victory against Djokovic in the Davis Cup that has spurned this instant belief in the heart of Carlos Alcaraz. And well enough, after the Spanish star had thrown away his ambition of world No.1 finish due to poor performances, he is now motivated not to let himself be taken for a ride come next season.
“The first part of my season was spectacular, but after Wimbledon I went through a slightly negative period,” explained Alcaraz. “But I think that’s normal and that I need to learn from these situations.”
As for those who might have begun to doubt his ability to dominate the tour, Alcaraz also had a retort for them, saying, “Get your TV set ready, and follow (me) in 2024, because it’s going to be a year full of energy and good times: we’re going to train and fight so that the year is at the same level or even better than this year.”
Carlos Alcaraz’s up and down journey in 2023
Carlos Alcaraz didn’t feature in the first Grand Slam tournament in Melbourne for the 2023 season due to injury, but the 20-year-old star made sure he claimed his first ATP title in Argentina winning the Buenos Aires Open. He then went on to win his first Masters 1000 title of the season – the Indian Wells tournament.
Carlos Alcaraz took over from his fellow compatriot and legend Rafael Nadal and won the Barcelona Open and Madrid Masters in 2022 and 2023. In June, he crashed out in the quarterfinals of Rolland Garros. The following month, the Spaniard won his second Grand Slam title in Wimbledon after defeating Novak Djokovic in an epic five-set thriller that lasted more than four hours.
Carlos Alcaraz fell to Novak Djokovic in the battle for the world No.1 year-end position after losing to Daniil Medvedev in the semifinals of the US Open, dropping to second while Novak Djokovic took the lead with 500 points after winning his 24th Grand Slam in New York. He then suffered consecutive defeats at the China Open, Shanghai Masters, and Paris Masters, yet the tennis star still kept his record 65–12 win-loss tally with 84.4% win.
Can Carlos Alcaraz bounce back stronger next year?
