Novak Djokovic and Carlos Alcaraz hit the practice courts together inside the Accor Arena ahead of the 2023 Paris Masters.
The final ATP 1000 tournament on the calendar starts on Monday, October 30, where Djokovic and Alcaraz have been drawn in opposite halves. Both players have a bye in the first round due to the high seeding status and will start their campaign in the round of 32.
The Serbian will face either countryman Miomir Kecmanovic or Tomas Martin Etcheverry in the second round. It is also pertinent to note that Djokovic has signed up to play in doubles (alongside Kecmanovic) and will play in the first round on that side of the competition on Monday against the duo of Jannik Sinner and Stan Wawrinka.
Alcaraz, for his part, will face the winner of the match between Cameron Norrie and Alexandre Muller. The Spaniard has recovered from his recent injury troubles and declared himself fit to see out the year, playing in Bercy and the ATP Finals for the first time in his career.
The world's top two players are set to battle for the year-end No. 1 ranking in the two high-stakes tournaments. Djokovic currently sits top, 500 points ahead of Alcaraz. The 20-year-old's withdrawal from Basel meant that he missed out on the chance to bridge that gap.
Djokovic and Alcaraz put rivalry to one side and enjoyed a hitting session under the gaze of their respective coaching teams. It's not the first time they have shared the same practice court, having done so multiple times before, most notably in Madrid last year.
The Djokovic-Alcaraz rivalry has become a must-see for tennis fans since their first meeting in Madrid, and they've never played a dull affair since. The head-to-head is tied at 2-2, with the Serb clinching that epic Cincinnati final in their most recent meeting.
This practice session had the same effect as their matches, and Tennis TV dedicated a live stream that has since clocked over 50,000 views on its official YouTube channel. The entire session lasted one and a half hours and involved a timed warm-up with multiple breaks and a tiebreak in which Djokovic won 7-3.
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