Almost 30 days after that enthralling Wimbledon final in London, Carlos Alcaraz and Novak Djokovic could potentially face each other with the Serb slated for a return in Cincinnati Masters. It will be Djokovic’s first event since the heartbreaking loss on Centre Court ate the SW19 while Alcaraz will already be warmed up for a fourth ATP meeting having completed his campaign in Canadian Masters, which begins from Monday onwards in Toronto. As the two build towards the fourth and final Grand Slam of the 2023 calendar year – US Open – Djokovic’s coach Goran Ivanisevic, sent a “threatening” message to Alcaraz warning him about two of opponents barring the 36-year-old who could disrupt his hopes in New York.
The Majors of 2023 have primarily been shared between Djokovic and Alcaraz. With Roger Federer out and Rafael Nadal struggling with injury which has ruled him out for the entire season, Djokovic claimed the first two Slams – in Melbourne and Paris – to edge past the veteran Spaniard in the all-time Grand Slam list while Alcaraz, often hailed as the next Rafa, grabbed his second career Major with the Wimbledon title haul.
Speaking to Sportske Novosti, Ivanisevic opined that Djokovic remains the only ‘dinosaur’ among the Big Three, battling it out against the younger lots in the ATP field.
“Novak remains the only ‘dinosaur’ among those older ones, the rest are all young guys,” he said. “It’s a normal sequence, but there’s still something to ask the elders.”
Fresh US Open ‘threats’
From Wednesday onwards Alcaraz will be building his campaign towards defending his US Open crown as he makes an appearance in Toronto for the Canadian Open while Djokovic will return to action next week in Cincinnati. And ahead of the start of the National Bank Open, Ivanisevic named Jannik Sinner and Daniil Medvedev as the two new threats for Alcaraz besides Djokovic.
He added: “Alcaraz is a story by himself, and Sinner is the only one who can threaten him at the US Open, along with Novak. The game that Sinner has doesn’t match Alcaraz and they have had very interesting matches so far.
“Also, if Medvedev plays well on the day, he is also a phenomenal player for me. There is no one who can stay in a long match with Alcaraz except Sinner and Djokovic. Those who cannot stay for long at Alcaraz’s pace can immediately pack their rackets and go home.”
Alcaraz and Sinner had faced at the US Open quarters last year with the two youngsters scripting a blockbuster five-setter tie that went on till 2 in the night in New York. Overall, the have won three each in their six meetings. The Spaniard however faced Medvedev, another fellow US Open winner, only thrice with a 2-1 head-to-head lead. Both his wins came in 2023 – in the Indian Wells final and Wimbledon semis.
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