Alcaraz & Djokovic Rivalry To Be 'Even Better, Crazier & More Watched' Says Ivanisevic

Thursday, 03 August 2023 at 09:00

byZlatko Vodenicharov

When Carlos Alcaraz defeated Novak Djokovic last year at the Madrid Open, not many thought that it would be the best rivalry on the ATP Tour a year later.

To be fair, there were quite a lot of people that expected many great matches from them in the future, but not many thought that Alcaraz would be a two-time Grand Slam Champion this year with plenty of weeks spent as number one.

The Spaniard is likely to enter the US Open as world number one, and if he does that, he'll be both number one and the defending champion at the event. Considering Djokovic didn't play last year, there is a good chance that we'll see another showdown for both a Grand Slam trophy and the number one rank in New York. The difference is not that huge, so it might even happen earlier.

It's a great thing for the sport, as we've lacked a really defining rivalry. This has all the makings of one. Two incredible players who respect each other tremendously with impressive consistency, which is crucial to ensuring that the matches actually end up being important ones. That's why also Djokovic's coach, Goran Ivanisevic spoke about it, saying that it will get even better.

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He is always motivated, a Grand Slam is a Grand Slam. It will be a big fight again. It is good that at Wimbledon, but also before in Paris, a rivalry was created between two players who are 16 years apart. Each of their next matches will be even better, crazier and more watched.

— Ivanisevic on the rivalry <br>

Ivanisevic already spoke about the rivalry in the past, and he's not the only one. M ats Wilander openly bemoaned the fact that Djokovic is as old as he is because it means we won't be seeing a decade of their matches in the future.