Many tennis fans have been waiting for this game at the French Open: Carlos Alcaraz challenges Novak Djokovic. The Serb feels reminded of another great Spaniard.
At the thought of the superstar duel of generations with Novak Djokovic, Carlos Alcaraz’s eyes lit up. To the cheers of the spectators on the Philippe-Chatrier court, the Spanish youngster raved about the semi-finals at the French Open, which many tennis fans have been longing for since the draw.
“If you want to be the best, you have to beat the best,” said the 20-year-old world number one with almost childlike joy. “For me, making history, playing a semi-final against a legend like Novak, is incredible.”
With the demonstration of his own extra class, especially in the first two sets in the 6: 2, 6: 1, 7: 6 (7: 5) against the fifth in the world rankings Stefanos Tsitsipas from Greece, Alcaraz got in the right mood for the game on Friday. Djokovic had a lot more trouble in his quarter-final victory over the Russian Karen Chatschanov 4: 6, 7: 6 (7: 0), 6: 2, 6: 4.
Djokovic compares Alcaraz to Nadal
The Serb also spoke of his next opponent with great respect – and drew a comparison to Rafael Nadal, with whom he currently shares a record of 22 Grand Slam titles. “He brings a lot of intensity to the pitch. He reminds me of someone from his country who plays with his left hand,” said the 36-year-old. “A lot of people want to see this game. He’s the player to beat.”
So far, the two have only faced each other once in a match. Alcaraz’s three-set success in more than three and a half hours in the semi-finals of the Madrid Masters a year ago promises a spectacle.
The US Open winner tried not to attribute too much importance to this only duel so far. “I will always choose Novak as a favourite, not because I want to take the pressure off me. But as long as he’s there, he’s the favourite,” said Alcaraz. He referred to the record of semi-final participation in Grand Slams of 45 to 2 in favor of Djokovic and his two titles in Roland Garros at the time of Nadal. “He just doesn’t have more because he met the best player in history here.”
Source: Stern
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