Carlos Alcaraz reacts to Novak Djokovic's last-minute ATP Finals withdrawal

Tuesday, 11 November 2025 at 12:30

byErik Virostko

Carlos Alcaraz was among those affected by Novak Djokovic's last-minute decision to withdraw from the 2025 ATP Finals.

Alcaraz is one of the top two favorites to win this year's ATP Finals. Along with Jannik Sinner, the Spaniard is expected to reach the final of the competition and battle it out for the trophy. But it might not be that easy, as only the eight best players in the world competed at the year-end championships.

This year, the ninth-highest-ranked player also made it to Turin, as Lorenzo Musetti replaced Novak Djokovic only hours before the start of the tournament. The way that happened was quite unique, as the two met in the Athens Open final.

Musetti needed to win the final of the ATP 250 tournament in Athens in order to overtake Felix Auger-Aliassime and qualify for the ATP Finals. However, he didn't have enough to beat Djokovic, who lifted his 101st career title. But immediately after winning the match point, Djokovic told his opponent at the net that he wouldn't play at this year's ATP Finals.

Djokovic took his time to decide about his participation. Although some criticized it, mostly because of the draw, which became imbalanced due to the Serbian's withdrawal, he was absolutely entitled to make that decision.

Since Djokovic was part of Alcaraz's group, the Spaniard was asked about the 24-time Grand Slam champion's decision. The Spaniard was honest, saying he prefers to have Lorenzo Musetti in his group over someone as experienced as Djokovic.

"Well, obviously someone like Novak being in the group is always tough. The experience he has in this tournament, the level he has on indoor court, it's quite good. I lost to him in 2023, and I played great. He killed me (smiling)."

"To be honest, I prefer Lorenzo. I'm not going to lie (laughter). If he's there, he deserves it because of the level he has put on the matches, the tournaments he has done this year, and the level he showed this year. It was really, really high."

"Let's see how he's going to be, how he's going to adapt. He's coming from Athens, and he couldn't feel the court at all. But I'm sure he's going to do great and let's see how is going to be."

The reality is that, on paper, Alcaraz has one of the weakest possible draws in ATP Finals history. In the round-robin stage, he will play against players ranked sixth, seventh, and ninth in the ATP Rankings, something that wouldn't be possible without Djokovic's withdrawal.

That will also help the 22-year-old to secure the year-end ATP world No. 1 rank, which came under threat from Jannik Sinner after he surprisingly lost early at the Paris Masters, while the Italian went on to win the title.

Alcaraz beat Alex de Minaur in his first match of the tournament, and now he needs only two more wins to secure the year-end No. 1 ranking.