Novak Djokovic lost the battle, but he's hopeful of winning the 'war' against Carlos Alcaraz following their Wimbledon clash.
Novak Djokovic and Carlos Alcaraz played three times in total so far on the ATP Tour. Alcaraz won the first match they ever played at the Madrid Open last year. They played at Roland Garros recently, a match Djokovic won to advance to the final and then win the event.
This time around it was a final, their first final against each other and Alcaraz proved better to win the 2023 Wimbledon Championships. After the match, Djokovic spoke about Alcaraz praising him for what he's been able to do as well as looking ahead to new battles.
I would hope so, for my sake (smiling). He's going to be on the tour for quite some time. I don't know how long I'll be around. Yeah, I mean, let's see. It's been only three matches that we played against each other. Three really close matches. Two already this year in later stages of Grand Slams.
Djokovic was always adamant about how rivalries helped him become the player that he is today. When you have competitors on your level pushing you to become a better and better player, then it's very beneficial to have a rivalry. While he generally considers Nadal to be his true rival, he's open to starting a rivalry with Alcaraz too.
He is already looking ahead to playing the Spaniard at the US Open. The Serb thinks rivalries are crucial for a sport to maintain interest and he'll be glad to shoulder the burden. It's likely going to make him better as well.
Yeah, I hope we get to play in US Open. Why not? I think it's good for the sport, 1 and 2 in the world facing each other in almost a five-hours, five-set thriller. Couldn't be better for our sport in general, so why not?
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