Novak Djokovic believes the future of tennis is ‘looking good’ with the emergence of Carlos Alcaraz leading the way.
The 24-time Grand Slam champion has hailed his Spanish opponent who he has played three times this season, winning two of those meetings at the French Open and in Cincinnati. Alcaraz’s only victory was in the Wimbledon final where the 20-year-old claimed his second Grand Slam title. Alcaraz also won their first meeting in Madrid last year.
It isn’t just on the court where the two are battling. They are currently in a race to end 2023 as the year-end No.1 player. Djokovic reclaimed the top spot following his run at the US Open earlier this month but his rival could close the gap on him at the China Open. An ATP 500 event that the Serbian is not playing at after deciding to take a short break.
“I think tennis, definitely the future is looking good with Carlos leading that field,” Reuters quoted Djokovic as telling Sky Sport.
“We’ve had some thrilling encounters… This year with the final at Wimbledon and also Roland Garros and Cincinnati – that was one of the best three-set matches I’ve ever played.
“It’s great for our sport there are more rivalries happening but rivalries with Roger Federer and Rafa Nadal particularly and also with Andy Murray are right up there for me.”
This week Djokovic has swapped the tennis racket for a golf club to take part in a celebraity all-star Ryder Cup match in Rome. He paired up with golfer Kirk Popert to beat F1 driver Carlos Sainz and his partner Tommaso Perrino 3-1. Both Popert and Perrino play on the golf for disabled Tour (G4D). Djokovic was part of Team Monty who won the tie 7-4 over Team Pavin.
The 36-year-old is set to return to the tennis court next week at the Shanghai Masters which is taking place for the first time since 2019 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. He has won the tournament a record four times and could once again resume his rivalry with Alcaraz.
“Hopefully I’ll play him as many times as I played the other guys and that will mean I’ll be playing for years to come. But I doubt that, let’s see how it goes,” he commented.
“I’ve had a fantastic year. Grand Slams are the ones that count the most for me at this point of my career, they’re the ones where I want to play my best tennis.
“This year, (winning) three out of four Slams and another final, I couldn’t ask for more.”
Djokovic, who has already qualified for the ATP Finals in Turin, has won five Tour titles and earned more than $10.5M in prize money so far this year.
