Carlos Alcaraz clinches victory over Novak Djokovic in Riyadh Season Tennis Cup
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Novak Djokovic and Carlos Alcaraz could once again be the ones to watch when the new tennis season begins.
PHOTO: AFP
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RIYADH – Novak Djokovic may be 36, but the 20-year-old Carlos Alcaraz believes the Serb is the same age as him in terms of his competitiveness and longevity.
On Dec 27, the Spaniard triumphed over the world No. 1 in an exhibition match in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, 4-6, 6-4, 6-4.
The duo met four times in 2023 – in the French Open semi-finals, Wimbledon final, Cincinnati Masters final and the semis of the ATP Finals – with Djokovic winning all but the title-decider at the All England Club.
“It’s incredible to share the court with him in this event and in official tournaments,” said Alcaraz of the 24-time Grand Slam champion who won the Australian Open, Roland Garros and the US Open last season.
“I am learning from him. After watching him win the big tournaments, I always dreamt about being in this position and playing against him face to face. I am really happy to play with him and hopefully, I can keep going.
“He seems like he is 20, so we are going to share the court more than once. I want to congratulate him and thank him for playing this match with me.”
Alcaraz made a strong start in the much-anticipated match at the Kingdom Arena, breaking Djokovic’s serve in the opening game and holding his serve after some errors from the Serb.
However, Djokovic bounced back with some brilliant returns to regain a 3-2 lead and secured the first set 6-4.
Alcaraz came back strongly in the second set and clinched it 6-4 with two consecutive aces to level things up.
The deciding set began with Djokovic making a spectacular start, taking advantage of a missed lob from Alcaraz and the proceedings heated up as the score remained close.
The sixth game saw Djokovic break back and level the scores at 3-3 in one of the most intense and dramatic games of the match, taking the upper hand on the third break point and then leading in the next game.
Alcaraz made a crucial breakthrough at 4-4, capitalising on an error from Djokovic, before going on to clinch the win.
“It’s fantastic to have Alcaraz in our sport,” Djokovic said.
Carlos Alcaraz made a crucial breakthrough at 4-4, capitalising on an error from Novak Djokovic, before going on to clinch the win.
PHOTO: AFP
“He is one of the leaders of this sport today and he is going to carry our sport for the next 10 to 15 years. We are going to see a lot of him, tennis is in good hands.”
The match in the Saudi capital is part of Riyadh Season, an annual festival of arts, culture and sports, including the upcoming Riyadh Season Cup football tournament in early February, featuring Cristiano Ronaldo’s Al-Nassr and Lionel Messi’s Inter Miami.
Both Djokovic and Alcaraz also expect Rafael Nadal to be at his competitive best
Nadal suffered a muscle issue at Melbourne Park in January that required surgery and will return at Brisbane this weekend before playing in the Jan 14-28 Australian Open, where he won two of his 22 Grand Slam titles.
The 37-year-old expects to retire in 2024 following a series of injuries but has stepped up his training in recent weeks and Djokovic said his great rival cannot be written off just yet.
“I always expect him to play at his best, to be honest,” he said.
“Many times they’ve signed him out, they’ve done that with me as well. But we’ve proved them wrong. He’s not a kind of a player who will come back to the tour just to play, let’s say, on a medium level, play a few matches.
“He wants to win titles, he wants to be the best, that’s why he is who he is – a legend of our sport.”
Alcaraz said his compatriot was at a “100 per cent” after watching videos of him practising.
“I hear from other players that practised with Rafa in these past weeks and they said he’s going to return to his good level, his top level,” he added. XINHUA, REUTERS
