Carlos Alcaraz has looked really strong so far at the 2024 Australian Open in Melbourne, and according to Mats Wilander, he has the weapons to beat Novak Djokovic.
Not many players were able to beat the Serbian at the Australian Open because he has ten trophies already. Beating him in Melbourne is in many ways as tough as doing it at Wimbledon, but one man did it.
It's Alcaraz as he bested the Serbian last year in the final in London. Doing so at the Australian Open will be tough, but former player Mats Wilander believes he can.
Speaking to Eurosport as part of the event coverage, Wilander singled out Alcaraz's weapons as one way to beat Djokovic.
"He does have the weapons to beat him. I think anywhere. The question is Novak hasn't lost in Australia once he made the semi-finals. So, yes he has the weapons but no one has such a deep source of confidence, that I don't think he thinks that anyone can beat him."
Neither is short of confidence, but Djokovic has countless hours of experience playing in the Rod Laver Arena. Alcaraz hasn't, and that could be a factor.
It didn't matter that much at Wimbledon, but remember that Djokovic was inches away from winning that match, and if he did, history would have been quite different.
Tennis is a sport of inches, and many things can happen, especially when a legend of the sport, like Wilander, breaks it down for you.
"But if you look at Alcaraz, he's faster than Novak from one spot to another, he hits the ball a little bit harder than Novak on the forehand, he plays with more variation than Novak which is why he won Wimbledon."
We'll see if he steps up and does it, but he should if he wants to back up his big claims from a few days ago.
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