Novak Djokovic recently gave his thoughts on Carlos Alcaraz’s pursuit of greatness. The Serbian believes that while the young Spaniard has already shown a lot of promise at 21, he may want to slow down a bit before making big promises to himself.
Alcaraz had a remarkable season on the ATP Tour last year, winning four titles, two of which came at the French Open and Wimbledon. However, he fell two places from his world No. 1 ranking to No. 3 in the year-end rankings, leading to concerns about his consistency.
That said, Alcaraz didn’t shy away from expressing his positive ambitions last year when he said he wanted to be “part of tennis history.” He also cited the 24-time Major winner’s career accolades as a point of reference.
“I know it’s almost impossible to break Novak’s records, but I play tennis for myself, for fun and I want to do great things,” Carlos Alcaraz said last year (via BBC Sport). “I want to be part of tennis history.”
Against that background, Novak Djokovic expressed his views on the Spaniard’s ambitious attitude in a conversation with GQ. The 37-year-old started by giving props to the world number 3, predicting that he would likely complete the Career Grand Slam at some point in his career.
However, he admitted in the same breath that it may already be Alcaraz’s turn to think about his place in tennis history.
“Carlos has done something at such a young age that no one in history has done. So the chances are great. He will complete his career.” [career] Slam really fast,” Novak Djokovic told GQ. ‘He even said himself that he wants to make history. He wants to be ‘the best in history’. I respect that kind of mentality of, ‘Hey, I think I’ve got the goods.’ But maybe it’s still a little early for him to think about history.”
Carlos Alcaraz and Novak Djokovic expected to meet in the quarterfinals of the 2025 Australian Open
Carlos Alcaraz and Novak Djokovic are all set to renew their rivalry at the 2025 Australian Open. The Spaniard and the Serbian share the same quarter, meaning only one of them will reach the semi-finals in Melbourne.
Alcaraz will have to be at his best to beat the 24-time Major winner when they meet in the last eight. He trails Djokovic by a narrow margin of 3-4 in their head-to-head encounters on the ATP Tour, giving the 37-year-old significant chances to win their future match.
Edited by Prathik BR