Novak Djokovic coach Goran Ivanisevic suggests the Serbian will play a lot of finals against Carlos Alcaraz despite the age disparity between the duo.
The Croatian second’s the Serb with his assessment that Alcaraz is a combination of the big three of the tennis. The 20-year old overcame the 7-time Champion at SW19 in the ‘The Final for Ages’ after a five set battle earlier this month to clinch his second major title.
The almost 16-year age gap between the two players aged 26 and 36 is the third largest gap in men’s Grand Slam final in Open Era. Both players have clashed twice in majors to split the winnings between them with Novak taking French Open Semis and Alcaraz winning the Wimbledon final. After a couple of ranking swaps between the two, the pair have comfortably secured the top rankings and currently shares the #1 and #2 rankings on the ATP tour with Alcaraz sitting on top (9,375 pts) and Djokovic at #2 with 8,795 pts. Daniil Medvedev trails both by a significant margin and takes the third spot with 6,520 pts.
Speaking in an interview with Dnevnik Nova TV, the former Wimbledon Champion praised Alcaraz’s complete game and potential.
“He is a mixture of all three and he has an incredible future ahead of him. If he continues like this, he has an incredible future ahead of him. He does it all with a smile, and we have the opportunity to watch him in the last three editions of this tournament (the ATP 250 event in Umag),” said the Croatian.
“Now everyone is expecting a new rivalry between Alcaraz and Novak. Although the age difference is big, they will still play a lot of finals. We have an interesting tennis era ahead of us.”
The former ATP #2 from Croatia, expressed his disappointment over the lost Wimbledon final, but lauded Alcaraz’s skill.
“I’m still a little sad, but it’s harder for Novak because he was on the court. But kudos to Carlos, he showed the world what kind of tennis player he is. A five-set match that went in his favour, but Novak took the chances you have to in such a final,” continued Ivanisevic.
Ivanisevic also spoke about the importance of the ongoing ATP 250 event in Umag (Croatian Open) where the big serving Croat has the Center Court named after him.
“Yes, Umag is more than a tournament, it has told so many stories all these years. It survives for so many years and offers something new every year. And last year’s Alcaraz-[Jannik] Sinner final may never happen again,” added the Croatian.