Carlos Alcaraz had a solid year in 2023, but he'll need to improve further in 2024 if he wants to challenge Novak Djokovic consistently, according to former ATP player Tim Henman.
The Novak Djokovic - Carlos Alcaraz rivalry delivered some pretty big matches this year. The Wimbledon final was pretty great, and it was the match Alcaraz won against Djokovic.
They also played in Cincinnati, and that was arguably the best match of the year. Djokovic won that one at the ATP Finals, along with Roland Garros.
The Roland Garros match particularly sticks out because of how Djokovic could outlast the youngster in pretty brutal conditions. That match showed former player Tim Henman that the Spaniard has plenty to improve before consistently challenging Djokovic.
He's still so young. He's still learning. You reflect on what happened at Roland Garros in the semi-finals, where after two sets, he suddenly got a terrible cramp. And I'm sure that was from the sort of nervous tension that went with playing that match against Djokovic. So, he's still got a lot of areas that he can improve on.
Any of the matches that followed that one basically only confirmed that, and Alcaraz knows it as well. Henman is certain, though, that the Spaniard will rise to the challenge because everything we've seen from the Spaniard confirmed that.
Speaking further to Eurosport, Henman gave Alcaraz a lot of credit for what he did do, as he missed the early part of the season which had plenty of points up for grabs at the Australian Open.
I mean, Alcaraz had an amazing year, winning his first Wimbledon title. He missed the early part of the year and he still finished No. 2 in the world. He was still in the race to finish No. 1 at the end of the year.
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